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Wind power needs what coal power needs

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Other Views

For wind 2009 was a boom and 2010 looks to be a bust. That was the gist of a Christopher Bjorke story in' the Money section of Sunday's Tribune.

A poor national economy and lower demand for energy translated to slower growth in North Dakota's wind farms. Add to those obstacles the lack of a coherent national energy policy.

The state's new wind capacity hit 711 megawatts in 2009, but projects in 2010 will add less than half that or 315 megawatts, although historically speaking, 2010 ranks as the second best year in terms of adding new capacity.

The slowdown in growth in wind generation wasn't all bad. There was a certain need for people on the ground, along with township and country boards, to regroup and get organized after the wave of wind farms that moved through the previous year.

There was a need to figure out the impact of wind towers on rural life. And local governments needed a chance to catch up in wind ordinance writing.

But clearly, wind energy will be in North Dakota's future.

The lack of a national energy policy has been a reoccurring theme in this space.

Not having that policy raises havoc with lignite coal industries along with oil exploration and production. It also puts question marks into plans for expanding wind-generating operations.

Everyone would like to know the rules. Not knowing adds to the difficulty in developing pipelines and transmission lines. This will be a key issue for North Dakota.

It's an especially important issue for wind energy in the state. Existing capacity for getting electricity to market has been maxed out.

The slowdown in capturing wind power has had a direct impact on Bis-marck-Mandan. If adding wind towers and turbines in 2010 had been anywhere near the 2009 level, it's likely that Schuff Steel Inc. would be up and running in the Northern Plains Commerce Centre, and with that would have come a large number of jobs that pay well.

Low unemployment or not, those kinds of jobs are critical to the local economy. It's in Bismarck-Mandan's best interest to have the wind come up again.

On the practical side, the wind industry needs continued recovery of the national economy, along with positive political momentum from the mid-term elections. All of us need to know the impact of the EPA actions related to coal-fired power plants and greenhouse gas emissions.

Coal, oil and wind -- they are all related.

(This editorial first appeared in the Bismarck Tribune.)A poor national economy and lower demand for energy translated to slower growth in North Dakota's wind farms. Add to those obstacles the lack of a coherent national energy policy.



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© 2011 Turtle Mountain Star Rolla, North Dakota. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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