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Dakota Wind Announces 750-MW Project

January 22, 2008 | 3 Comments

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Britton, South Dakota [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Dakota Wind Energy, LLC has announced plans to build South Dakota's first utility scale community-owned wind project. This project has the potential of producing more than 750 megawatts (MW) of energy spread over 700 square miles of agricultural land.

According to AWEA, South Dakota has the wind potential to power 50% of the nation's electrical demands. When all phases are complete, the Dakota project, could produce enough electricity to power more than 200,000 homes.

"For community-wind projects, such as Dakota Wind Energy, size does matter. Utilities and institutional investors prefer larger community-owned wind projects because they have the local support needed to move smoothly through permitting, site control, and power line siting," said Patrick Pelstring, co-chair of National Wind. "Large community wind projects also have the capital available to afford the high costs related to wind developments of any size, including building a private transmission lines, which can cost millions of dollars."

Wind Power

3 Reader Comments

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dan-ost-41761

January 22, 2008

North Dakota doesn't have the infrastructure to export the power they generate in-state. Does South Dakota have the same problem?

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rolf-westgard-67277

January 23, 2008

I would be interested in seeing some real financial information showing where they are going to get the billion $ or two needed for this project.

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gary-tulie-73445

January 25, 2008

<p>As the project would be built in phases, the up front investment would be nowhere near this large, and could be funded by a combination of local electricity distributors, local small investors, and banks. With a decent wind climate, and sufficient transmission capacity, there should be a decent return on investment - so making later phases attractive to new and existing investors. </p><p> </p>

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