Commissioner says PUC couldn't rule on Black Hills Power's wind farm request
Mike and Eileen Miller's ranch, which is located northwest of Belle Fourche, was proposed as the site of a Black Hills Power wind farm. BHP withdrew its proposal after the state Public Utilities Commission refused to rule on the company's request to have it declared "reasonable and cost-effective" under the state's renewable energy goals. (Ryan Soderlin/Journal staff)Public Utilities Commissioner Gary Hanson said Tuesday that while he supported a proposed Black Hills Power wind farm, he maintained the commission’s unanimous position that it does not have the statutory authority to make a formal determination about the project before it is built.
Black Hills Power announced Monday that it has shelved plans for what would have been the first commercial wind farm West River, a $38 million project 8 miles north of Belle Fourche.
The utility said the project was too risky without a PUC ruling that the wind farm was “reasonable and cost effective” under the state law governing South Dakota’s renewable energy goal.
“Ultimately, they wanted 100 percent assurance, (which) we simply were not able to give them without going through the rate process,” Hanson said of a process that can’t occur until a wind farm is built and a rate hike is requested by the utility.
Black Hills Power said the effect on a customer’s bill would be about a 1.5 percent increase if the company did eventually raise rates to cover its costs.
Hanson said he was prepared to vote against the PUC staff’s recommendation on the matter, saying he thought the wind farm proposal had a lot of advantages.
The project would have included between seven and 12 turbines, each about 250 feet tall, and would have provided 20 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 8,500 homes for a year, with the potential to generate up to 50 megawatts.
“The cost of power was lower than most I’ve seen,” Hanson said. “It was an economical and reasonable opportunity. It looked like it would be a pretty darn good project. I anticipated supporting it and thought that it would go through the process without a hitch like wind projects do.”
But he changed his mind after studying the staff’s documentation supporting its decision.
“It became clearer and clearer that the commission was not legally permitted to rule in Black Hills’ favor,” Hanson said.
Hanson said he expects lawmakers will take up the issue in next year’s Legislative session. He said they should study whether the law contains an unnecessary disincentive.
Cost Of Wind Energy - News
The utility said the project was too risky without a PUC ruling that the wind farm was “reasonable and cost effective” under the state law governing South Dakota's renewable energy goal. “Ultimately, they wanted 100 percent assurance, (which) we simply
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How much would it cost me to install a complete wind turbine ...
How much would it cost me to install a complete wind turbine system?
With my electricity bill as high as it is, I’m considering going off of city power and installing a wind turbine system that can power my whole house. I live in the state of Oregon. Can someone give me a ball park cost for such an endeavour and what kind of performance I could expect? Thanks.
A few years ago a coworker looked into this because they found out after they moved a mobile home onto their property that it was going to cost about $10,000 to have electric brought in. The wind turbine setup was also about the same price. Remember that your generator needs to be larger than your average load to charge batteries for when the wind does not blow. I am in Oklahoma where we have some of the best conditions for wind generation and still would need considerable storage.
GE prepared to join energy 'megatrend' cost of wind power is falling, making it a long-te… (cont) 
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Radio interview with Prof of Energy Conversion this morning. energy from wind farms cost twice as much as that from Nuclear. Interesting huh
there are better alternatives to wind energy. Waste of tons of space, high cost, and limited energy. 
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