
[ad_1]
Wind has overtaken hydro as the largest generator of electricity in South Dakota.
Last year, over 52% of the electricity generated in the state came from wind turbines.
This is due to the large number of new, better turbines made in recent years. The state had 526 turbines before 2019. Another 511 were built from 2019 to 2021.
South Dakota now generates twice as much electricity as it uses. The rest is exported to nearby states, according to the Public Utilities Commission. Commissioner Christy Figen said the new wind projects are motivated by more power lines, available tax credits that developers feared were coming to an end and technological advances that make turbines a viable investment.
But producing most of the electricity during the year does not mean that wind produces most of it every day. That number can vary widely from day to day, Fiegen said.
Because of this and the lack of ways to store energy produced in previous periods, it is important to have reliable backup sources, according to Fiegen.
“We have to have that coal and natural gas to support wind when it’s not blowing or solar when the sun isn’t shining,” she said.
Fiegen said things like coal, natural gas and nuclear power are energy backups that South Dakota might need until large batteries are able to store the unused electricity currently being exported.
South Dakota Renewable Energy Association analyst Steve Wegman agrees. But he is optimistic that efficient air conditioning and heating systems, alternative energy storage projects and recent federal investments will dramatically reduce reliance on non-renewable energy sources soon.
For example, there is renewed interest in the Gregory County Pumped Storage Project. That project would use electricity generated when demand is low to pump water uphill into the proposed reservoir. Gravity would then drop the water into an existing, lower reservoir on the Missouri River, turning the turbine to generate power when demand is higher.
In addition, the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress and signed by President Biden includes investments in additional turbines and more transmission lines. The bill also includes tax credits for large home batteries – often referred to as the “wall of power”.
As the wind continues
Almost all of South Dakota’s major wind energy projects are on the East River.
Steve Wegman said it’s for a number of reasons.
“For one, the electricity demand in South Dakota’s West River is about the same as the Sioux Falls metro area itself.” “In addition, basic infrastructure, such as power lines, already exists in eastern South Dakota,” he said.
More:Iowa is betting big on wind power, but that creates a problem: What happens to the blades when they’re no longer useful?
Wegman said several new transmission lines have been built in western South Dakota in recent decades.
New wind development in South Dakota is likely to stall until much of that basic infrastructure is built, Wegman says.
“All of our major transmission lines are full and until we build more, there’s no benefit to building more turbines,” Wegman said.
Love it or hate it
In some parts of the country, wind energy is a generator of tax revenue for local governments.
The Wessington Springs School District received over $150,000 in tax revenue in 2022 from two large wind energy projects in Gerauld County, according to County Auditor Shannon Fagerhaug. The county itself received another $110,000 to be used primarily for road maintenance and development, and another $47,000 was split among the county’s four municipalities, Fagerhaug said.
Nevertheless, stories about the turbines being loud and killing birds are common. Wind energy analyst Steve Wegman said those stories are exaggerated, citing an article that said “wind farms killed about 7,000 birds in the United States in 2006, but nuclear plants killed about 327,000 and fossil fuel plants 14, 5 million”.
“On a windy day, you’ll hear the corn rustling and the trucks traveling a lot more than these turbines.” “What people are really upset about is that wind turbine builders don’t choose their own land to build on,” Wegman said.
Wind turbines are placed far enough from homes that noise is minimal, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The department says a nearby wind farm is no louder than a refrigerator heard from another room.
A wind turbine went up on Nick Nemetz’s 5,000-acre farm near Highmore a year ago. He said the turbine is no louder than the combine and the noise is barely audible from the nearest public road.
“A very vocal minority complain about them.” “There are too many people who listen to extreme right-wing fossil fuel types who don’t like them because it’s eating away at their jobs,” Nemec said.
More:Apple Names Tribal Wind Power Producer as Part of First Class Impact Accelerator
Nemec is paid annually based on the amount of electricity the turbine produces. He received about $14,000 for the first year and donated the entire check to help build a new local pool.
Wind energy is here to stay, regardless of how anyone feels about it, says Steve Wegman.
“It’s still in its infancy and we’re still growing with it.” And we will continue to grow with wind energy for a long time to come,” Wegman said. “For example, a hydroelectric plant in the early 1900s was hardly capable of producing the amount of electricity it produces today.” We’re still in that early stage with the wind.”
Because of this, Noah Brinkman, instructor of wind turbine technology at Mitchell Tech, is confident that the workforce needs in the wind energy sector will continue for the foreseeable future. He points to figures from the technical college that show 170 wind turbine technicians have graduated with a 100% employment rate.
“There’s always going to be a blade that needs to be done, oiling, tightening, gears are going to break,” Brinkman said. “It’s like the car industry.” You’re always going to need to change the oil, change the brakes, things are going to have to be fixed.”
[ad_2]
Source link