The MinnDakota Wind Power Project near White is set to expand by one-third.

Iberdrola Renewables, of Portland, Ore., on Friday announced a $100 million expansion, called the Buffalo Ridge Wind Power Project. It would add 50 megawatts of potential power production from about 50 new turbines. There already are 100 turbines in the original MinnDakota wind farm capable of producing 150 megawatts.

Tim Seck, Iberdrola development director, said there would be "about 75 workers at the peak of construction, with six to eight permanent jobs. The project will produce about $300,000 annually for (Brookings) county."

Power generated by the new turbines, set to come on line in 2009, will be purchased by Northern Indiana Public Service Co., which has about 445,000 customers in northern Indiana. The power from Buffalo Ridge will provide electricity for about 15,000 of those customers.

The project foreshadows an even larger wind farm north and west of the current site, Seck said.

"We expect to be filing permits in the next couple of months for a significant expansion. It would be South Dakota's largest project," he said. "We haven't announced how many megawatts. We'll save that for another day."

Seck did say the next project is contingent upon Congress extending a tax credit of 1.9 cent per kilowatt hour of production set to expire at the end of this year.

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, who attended Friday's announcement, said the House three times has voted to extend the production tax credit.

"We have not had 60 votes in the Senate. I am hopeful in September we will be able to break through that logjam and find 60 votes in the Senate," she said. "The public is demanding action."

Chris Lien, Herseth Sandlin's Republican challenger for the House, also said he favors extending the production tax credit.

Lien said the wind power projects "are vital, and we need to do everything we can to move forward with them." But he added that while the federal government has a role in jump-starting such ventures, "the federal government should not forget it starts from the private sector and needs to return there."

County Commission Chairman Deanna Santema of Brookings hailed the project. "We have been waiting a long time for the wind companies to find out the wind didn't stop at the Minnesota-South Dakota border," she said.