Wind energy the topic for CSDED

PIERRE -- The concept of wind energy is viewed by state and civic leaders as either a good thing or a bad thing, Public Utilities Commissioner Dusty Johnson said, something he hopes to change when he addresses a group of officials from several counties today.

"A lot of people believe that wind power is sort of a ‘silver bullet’ that is going to create tremendous economic development and prosperity for South Dakota," Johnson said. "(Others say) that wind power is ‘fool’s gold’ — that it’s expensive, that the wind doesn’t blow when it needs to, and that wind power has the effect of raising energy prices."

Johnson will give a wind power presentation to the Central South Dakota Enhancement District at 2 p.m. today at the Stanley County Courthouse in Fort Pierre.

Johnson said he wants to educate public officials and the general public to some of the misconceptions of wind-generated energy.

"I really see this as a false dichotomy," Johnson said. "We’ll examine both sides of the issue. The reality is that wind has some tremendous challenges. It’s not the answer to our energy solutions in the country, but it is a part of the answer."

Johnson said the state needs to continue to be aggressive in wind energy development but warns the results are not going to be "explosive."

"We will see an evolution of wind power in South Dakota, not a revolution," Johnson said.

Marlene Knutson, executive director of the CSDED said some of the district’s board members requested a presentation on wind energy because they were interested in the subject.

"We thought we would have Dusty come in and tell us what’s going on in the state and how local people might get involved in wind power," Knutson said. "We already have one wind farm in the district and it would depend on what’s out there if we want to look at building more. This is our first step, just to get some basic information."

On March 1, the Tantanka wind farm, a cooperation with the state and North Dakota, will go online generating as much as 180 megawatts of electricity, joining the MinnDakota wind farm that went online Jan. 1 with about 150 megawatts of electricity.

"That’s more than $200 million in each instance," Johnson said. "The first quarter of this year, we’ll have hundreds of megawatts of power come online in this part of the country. I do think we need to be realistic about what wind development is going to look like in the future."

The CSDED is a planning and development district serving seven counties and 20 municipalities in central South Dakota.