S. DAKOTA GROWS WIND

Slowly growing: Wind farms gradually increasing in South Dakota
Emily Arthur-Richardt and Scott Waltman, June 13, 2010 (American News via iStockAnalyst)

"By year's end, the amount of wind energy produced in South Dakota will be enough to power just more than half of the homes in the state…And, Dusty Johnson added, the wind farms planned for northeast South Dakota could make the $1 billion industry investment in the past two years look like peanuts.

"…Transmitting the energy that wind farms produce is [however] a huge problem…Capacity is limited, and building more is very expensive…That's why Steve Wegman, executive director of the South Dakota Wind Energy Association, said growth will be gradual…"

South Dakota has the wind. (click to enlarge)

"There are 413 megawatts of installed wind energy across South Dakota. There are another 300 megawatts under construction…Texas had 9,405 megawatts of wind energy installed at the end of 2009. Even fellow Midwest state Iowa had 3,670 megawatts…One megawatt of wind capacity is enough to supply 240 to 300 average American homes…South Dakota's wind energy potential, on the other hand, brings more promise, ranking fourth in the nation behind North Dakota, Texas and Kansas…Sometimes having good wind just isn't enough…

"NextEra recently completed construction the Day County Wind Energy Center in northeast South Dakota. At 99 megawatts, the project is the largest wind farm operating in the state, although that should change in the next few years as more construction is finished…[T]he company has no current projects…[but] continues to pay attention to what's happening in the state…[awaiting better transmission and other favorable factors]…"

New transmission could deliver Midwestern winds to the energy-hungry East. (click to enlarge)

"Many planned wind farms were going to tap into the Big Stone II coal-burning power plant [transmission system]…Before it was stymied by out-of-state environmental groups…Governmental, utility and wind power officials still hope to increase transmission capacity, but there are serious concerns about who will pay…

"The $12 billion Green Power Express, which would ship electricity from the middle of the country to Chicago, is another possible solution to the transmission problem. But, again, finding somebody to pay for the undertaking is a stumbling block…[A] proposal that would spread about 80 percent of the cost over a multi-state area based on load…would be favorable to South Dakota, but it's not finalized…"