The Journal editorial board | Posted: Saturday, July 21, 2007 11:00 pm
|
Wind-power
proponents at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory claim that
South Dakota has enough wind to meet 55 percent of the nation's
electrical needs, if all of its wind potential were harnessed and
transformed into electrical power.
"If" is the
operative word in that sentence.
Although South
Dakota has a long history of using windmills to pump water out of
farmyard wells, wind-power as an industry is in its infancy in
South Dakota.
Sen. John Thune,
who hails from Murdo - otherwise known as the windiest town in
South Dakota - knows that the people of South Dakota want to see
wind power development encouraged.
Thune has shown
leadership on this issue in the Senate, with tax-credit legislation
to make wind power more attractive to long-term investors. He is
also promoting the construction of energy corridors in the
state that will enable wind-generated electricity to be moved to
high-demand markets. Thune's amendment to do that is now part of
the Senate-passed energy bill.
South Dakota has
plenty of wind. We have the technology to transform it into
electricity. Now, we need the ability to transmit it to market.
Transmission bottlenecks that limit wind power's growth should be
addressed and eliminated.
Thune recently made
the case for wind power to the Western Area Power Administration,
which controls much of the power lines in South Dakota, in the
hopes that WAPA might study the integration of wind power and
Missouri River hydro-electric power.
"If it is possible
to tap South Dakota's strong winds for electric power generation
and utilize our hydroelectric dams when the winds die down, it
would mark a major development in South Dakota's power generation,"
Thune said.
We think investing
in the power of wind makes sense, for many reasons. While South
Dakota's wind may not ever produce 55 percent of this nation's
electricity, it certainly has a role to play in a healthy mix of
energy sources for America.
