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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