SO DAKOTA WIND TEMPTS UTILITY

N.C. wind company eyes Meade County; Spokesperson says weather data ‘encouraging,’ but project is early stages
Heather Murschel, March 26, 2011 (Black Hills Pioneer)

"Data from a meteorological tower in Meade County [that Duke Energy Renewables, a renewable energy business unit that is a part of North Carolina’s Duke Energy Corp., began reading in 2009] is already showing encouraging results that it is in an ideal location for a large-scale wind farm…

"Steve Wegman, the executive director of the South Dakota Wind Energy Association, said Duke Energy is one of many companies [in preliminary stages of] competing for wind energy projects [which are five or more years from construction] in western South Dakota…"

Look at all that wind! (click to enlarge)

"Because [Duke] is simply in the in the exploratory stage…no specifics on the scale, or exact location of the project have been set…[but is clear about] the advantages of constructing a large-scale wind farm in Meade County include the proximity to transmission lines that the wind project could tap into, and the availability of private land for potential lease…[Duke is aware of and plans to protect the regional heritage] of Bear Butte…

"…[A Duke spokesman said] the company will only commit to building a commercial renewable energy project…after it has signed a long-term agreement with a power purchaser, typically regional utilities, electric cooperatives or municipalities…[and has not] secured one yet [in South Dakota]...Wegman said the actual construction of a wind farm, depending on the size, takes less than 180 days…Wegman said the success of any wind energy company in South Dakota is directly related to economic development…"

South Dakotans could get 135 times more electricity from their wind than they need. If they invested in wires, they could get richer than Texas. (click to enlarge)

"Duke Energy is no stranger to the wind energy business…[It] has more than 5,500 megawatts in its pipeline…[and] upwards of 1,000 mega-watts of wind energy online at nine wind farms in the United States. Since 2007, they have invested more than $1.5 billion, and are already in the top 10 for wind generation capacity.

"…[O]ne megawatt would serve approximately 300 homes with electricity, and a typical residential home uses 1.8 kilowatts an hour, while small businesses such as a hotel or a grocery store, uses 500 kilowatts an hour."