SO. DAKOTA WIND WANTS INVESTORS

Wind Farm Looking for South Dakota Investors; 7-turbine Jerauld County wind farm looking for South Dakota investors
Dirk Lammers, July 23, 2010 (AP via ABC News)

"A $23 million, seven-turbine wind farm to be built next to a larger 101-turbine project near White Lake is opening up investment opportunities for South Dakota residents.

"The South Dakota Wind Partners farm will be built, operated and maintained by North Dakota-based Basin Electric Power Cooperative, and Basin will buy the 10.5 megawatts of electricity it will produce."

Some states in the Midwest have already discovered the opportunity in wind. (click to enlarge)

"The smaller farm will be built next to Basin's $363 million PrairieWinds SD1 project, which will encompass 37,000 acres…South Dakota residents can invest in the side project with a minimum of $15,000…[T]he goal is to raise $16 million…The federal government will cover the remaining 30 percent of the project's cost under a provision in the stimulus package. To qualify for the federal assistance, 5 percent of the project's construction must be completed by the end of the year.

"The East River Electric Power Cooperative, the South Dakota Corn Growers, the South Dakota Farmers Union and the South Dakota Farm Bureau each contributed $20,000 to the effort and each is contributing three members to the board…Mike Held, chief executive of the South Dakota Farm Bureau, said wind projects have been great for the state because its wind-rich areas are often in communities that struggle with rural economic development…"

The others will. (click to enlarge)

"Basin will send the power to other cooperatives in the Upper Great Plains through Western Area Power Administration transmission lines…The 1.5-megawatt GE turbines are expect to start spinning by the second or third quarter of 2011…

"South Dakota Public Utilities commissioners [recently] granted a permit for the full Basin Electric project…"