South Dakota PUC leader says wind production will double next year

If Dusty Johnson is right, 2010 is going to be a monumental year for wind production in South Dakota.

“South Dakota is going to double its wind production in 2010,” Johnson said. “It’s not a stretch to imagine a billion dollars being invested in wind power in South Dakota in the next 30 months.”

Economic conditions have tightened the budgets of some potential investors, and Johnson isn’t expecting any new wind farms to go online in 2009. Johnson, however, is confident that many wind farms will be building additional turbines to harness the state’s wind power, including a possible addition at the Wessington Springs wind farm site. There, 34 wind towers already are spinning at a location Johnson says is “among one of the best wind sites in the northern Great Plains.”

“The South Dakota wind sites that we do have are so good that of every one that is constructed, I know of plans to add on to that wind farm without exception,” Johnson said.

He said companies from across the globe are investing millions of dollars in South Dakota and have plans to invest billions.

“It’s a rather good reminder of how good our wind regime is,” he said.

The latest wind project in the state is the Titan I Wind Farm under construction near Ree Heights. When completed, the farm is expected to generate enough electricity to power 7,500 average American homes.

Johnson said he expects to hear public announcements about wind farm expansion in South Dakota in the next 12 months.

But even though Johnson is sanguine about the future of wind farms in the state, he said the usual issue of finding ways to transmit the power will likely remain.

“We’re always going to struggle to figure out who’s going to pay for the transmission upgrades we need to get that power to market,” Johnson said. “I think we’re going to struggle with that problem probably forever.”

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