Wind Energy in Miner County
Overview:
Meet our Neighbors
Recognizing that the economy of rural America is changing, the citizens of Miner County made a decision to be leaders for positive change. Today, visitors will see wind turbines dotting the skyline across the county. In all, four Micon 108 wind turbines are located in Howard, Carthage, and Canova. These turbines provide a reminder of where technology can lead rural places.
Not
only will the wind turbines produce electricity, but they will also create
jobs both locally and across the
state. The wind resource in South Dakota is tremendous, and it is only
time before more wind turbines take root across the state. In an
effort to be ready for these developments, Miner County is working with Energy
Maintenance Service (EMS) to create a trained workforce for the
industry. Through a grant from the Fund for Rural America, Miner
County Community Revitalization provides a working model for developing
the assets of local people to meet the demands of the renewable energy
industry.
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Miner County is also looking at how to leverage
the "green" nature of the electricity produced by the
turbines. Because people who want to purchase green electricity are
often not served by utilities that own wind turbines, the renewable energy
industry created "green tags." Green tags give the purchaser
of the tags the right to claim emissions reductions and other environmental
benefits of the green energy. In other words, the wind turbines create
an opportunity to sell the environmentally friendly attributes of wind
generated electricity at a premium to people who are interested in marketing their support for renewable energy. |
Frequently
Asked Questions
With any new technology, people often have questions. Dr. Michael Ropp, an electrical engineering professor from South Dakota State University (SDSU), has written the following articles to answer these questions. Dr. Ropp is working with MCCR on the Fund for Rural America grant, and has his own website with interesting facts about renewable energy. |