LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]


Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Sioux tribes plan large-scale wind energy project 

One advantage the tribes could have over other entities is building the turbines on reservation land, which may not require gaining approval from individual landowners for the project, Rebenitsch said. "The tribe have some very good areas...If they can do it all on tribal lands, they can probably move forward in that area," he said.

Credit:  By: Kristi Eaton, Associated Press, The Jamestown Sun | July 4, 2013 | www.jamestownsun.com ~~

A group of Sioux tribes in South Dakota are hoping to pump some much-needed revenue into their economies with an ambitious wind project, but some wind industry experts question whether the tribes understand the hurdles they face with such a large-scale development.

Leaders from six Sioux tribes announced plans at last month’s Clinton Global Initiative to develop a renewable energy project that would generate 1 to 2 gigawatts of power annually. Funding for the up to $3 billion project would come from the sale of bonds by a new multi-tribal power authority as well as donations to a website.

“It gives Native tribes who aren’t in populace areas and don’t have casino revenue a chance to earn some real money that can then be used to reinvest into the community to diversify the economic base that exists,” Clinton said at the event. The Sioux tribes are located in some of the poorest areas in the country.

But wind energy experts said the tribes face many obstacles in making the project a reality.

“When I see plans for a thousand megawatts, I have to give a chuckle,” said Steve Wegman, an analyst for the South Dakota Renewable Energy Association, who noted that the project is similar to one proposed years ago. “The goal is good, but it’s going to take them a long time to get there.”

One of the biggest obstacles to the project is simply what to do with so much energy in a state that doesn’t demand a lot.

Wind energy demand in South Dakota sits at less than 800 megawatts currently. Wegman said. Another 100 will be put on line in the next year.

“After that it’s going to be slow going,” he said.

Ron Rebenitsch, executive director of the South Dakota Wind Energy Association, said all wind developers face three challenges: finding a buyer for the energy, transmitting it and following the environmental and regulatory requirements.

Since South Dakota is a small state that doesn’t require a lot of power, the multi-tribal power authority will need to look east to places such as Minneapolis and Chicago, Rebenitsch said. But then the challenge becomes getting it to those locations. New wind generation requires new lines, and a gigawatt or more would require several major lines, which cost about $1 million per mile and take up to a year and a half to build.

The tribes recognize that there isn’t much demand locally, which is why they’re hoping to sell it to cities such as Anaheim, Calif., or Oklahoma City and connect with a company that already has a transmission system in place, said Paul Valandra, an economic development adviser with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

He said building the wind energy project is in the national interest and is “a little bit of social justice” for the tribes, who have felt wronged by the U.S. government in the past.

“We’re going slow, but we want to do a first-class job on this project,” Valandra said.

One advantage the tribes could have over other entities is building the turbines on reservation land, which may not require gaining approval from individual landowners for the project, Rebenitsch said.

“The tribe have some very good areas…If they can do it all on tribal lands, they can probably move forward in that area,” he said.

Source:  By: Kristi Eaton, Associated Press, The Jamestown Sun | July 4, 2013 | www.jamestownsun.com

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon