BIG WIND BUILDING IN NO DAKOTA

ND wind power set for big expansion
Christopher Bjorke, October 8, 2011 (Bismarck Tribune)

"North Dakota's wind energy capacity will likely grow by more than a third in 2012, driven by renewable energy standards and the uncertain future of a federal incentive.

"The state's operating wind farms have the capacity to generate 1,378 megawatts of electricity. Between projects that are under development now and some that are likely to go forward soon, the state could add almost 500 additional megawatts…[making] 25 percent of the nameplate capacity of [South Dakota] electricity…generated by wind…[F]ive projects…are under construction or…[expected] to be soon started and completed by the end of 2012."

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"Next year could be a busy one for the wind industry across the country as developers work to complete projects before a key incentive is scheduled to expire. The federal production tax credit gives companies 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity, but it is uncertain whether Congress will renew the subsidy in light of struggles in Washington over spending…

"The American Wind Energy Association has called for a four-year extension of the tax credit, arguing that its expiration in 2004 led to a drop in wind installations of 77 percent…[T]here are 7,354 megawatts of generation capacity under construction across the country, more than any time since 2008…[with] the Dec. 31 deadline to qualify for the tax credit [imposing] 'a hard end date…'"