South Dakota is in line to receive an expansive roll-out of wind-energy projects that will add a total of 888 turbines to the state by 2020, along with $3.26 billion in investments by energy companies.
Eight of the projects have already been approved, which include 700 turbines and an investment of $2.6 billion, according to South Dakota News Watch. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission approved the eight projects between June 2018 and July 2019. Two other projects are in the regulatory approval process, which would add a further 188 turbines and a $640 million investment.
The majority of turbines will be stationed in the northeast part of the state, with others in the center and one 45-turbine project under construction in Butte County, located in the northwest.
See the complete list of projects below.
As of 2017, South Dakota ranked 19th in the nation for wind-energy production, with 15 wind farms and 548 turbines, generating 1,014 megawatts of electricity.
“For rural South Dakota, this is an awesome boom,” said Steven Wegman of the South Dakota Renewable Energy Association. “No one ever spent $300 million in Codington County in a construction season.”
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