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South Dakota regulators approve permit for wind turbine
farm
South Dakota could soon add dozens of wind turbines to its energy
generation repertoire.
On Thursday, the state Public Utilities Commission voted 3-0 to
approve a permit for North Bend Wind Project, LLC, a wind energy
facility proposed by ENGIE North America, an energy company based out
of Texas.
The project would be located west of
the company's 92-tower Triple H Wind Farm and would consist of up to
71 wind turbines spread across approximately 46,931 acres of land
within Hughes and Hyde County. The company's permit
application also states the project would generate up to 200
megawatts of electricity for the Southwest Power Pool, an electric
grid manager that supplies electricity to much of South Dakota.
Before the permit was given the thumbs-up by the commission, Chairman
Chris Nelson addressed objections to the project brought by Hughes
County farmers Michael and Judi Bollweg. A letter from
Michael argued the wind turbines, some of which he said would stand
only a few hundred feet away from crop land, would make it impossible
and dangerous for agricultural aircrafts to apply pesticides. He also
stated some affected lands are used to farm sunflowers, and farmers
stand to lose $684 per acre should their fields go untreated.
Anthony Crutch, lead developer for North Bend, told the commission an
agreement had been reached with the family. He explained an ENGIE site
manager would coordinate with pilots to determine a time to shut down
their turbines to allow sprayers to fly unhindered.
"We do recognize these towers have impacts on non-participating
landowners," Crutch said.
One concern that remains unresolved, however, is the project's
proximity to an air route surveillance radar near Gettysburg.
According to a North Bend Aviation
Constraints Study, the radar, which is located approximately 41.47
nautical miles northwest of the project, could fall within the line of
sight of the Federal Aviation Administration/Department of
Defense-owned instrument.
The filing notes that an "in-depth radar impact study … may be
required."
North Bend ranges in cost between $265 and $285 million, according to
the permit
application. The wind farm was expected to be operational by late
2022.
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