A 306-megawatt wind farm proposed for 77 acres in Brookings and Deuel counties would nearly triple the state's total production of wind energy - adding enough capacity to power 148,000 Midwestern homes. (Editor's note: The figure "77 acres" does not appear to be an accurate figure. Turbine facilities of this scale require hundreds to thousands of acres of open land.)

Oregon-based Iberdrola Renewables Inc. wants to build Buffalo Ridge II close to its two existing farms near White. Buffalo Ridge II would join the 54-megawatt Minn-Dakota farm that came online in April and the 55-megawatt Buffalo Ridge I, which should be completed in early 2009.

"It's a $700 million project, it's a huge investment in the Brookings area," Iberdrola spokeswoman Jan Johnson said of Buffalo Ridge II. "We've been gratified with the welcome the Brookings area has given us. If we weren't completely happy, we wouldn't be investing our resources there."

The project also includes a 13-mile, 115-kilovolt overhead transmission line that would connect to an existing collection substation near Brookings.

"We don't have a customer at this time," Johnson said, "although the point would be to sell to markets in the Midwest."

The Minn-Dakota farm, which sprawls into adjoining Lincoln County, Minn., produces electricity for Xcel Energy. To boost distribution, Xcel is building a 345-kilovolt transmission line from the Sioux Falls area to the Twin Cities.

Proposal submitted to utilities panel

Iberdrola submitted its 120-page facility permit application to the state Public Utilities Commission on Oct. 24. Any wind project of more than 100 megawatts must seek approval from the PUC.

Johnson said the company hopes to get its permit by February, begin road-clearing and construction in May and start generating power in 2010.

The project would create about 100 temporary construction jobs, as well as 18 to 23 permanent jobs - welcome news to the 550 residents of White.

"Were always open to economic progress," said Mayor Randy Brown. "We've got new home lots being developed, a great school system, just a lot of good things happening in White."

If approved, Buffalo Ridge II would take the state's wind-generated power capacity from the current 187 megawatts to 493 megawatts. One megawatt provides enough electricity for about 300 homes.

South Dakota ranks fourth nationally for potential wind capacity but is 18th in existing capacity, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

The state has the potential to supply 117,200 megawatts of wind-generated energy, according to the AWEA.

That's a factor not lost on Iberdrola, which changed its name from PPM Energy in May.

"Transmission is the bottleneck to all wind power in this country," Johnson said. "But Brookings and Deuel counties are a great base to do business - as well as all of South Dakota. (Senator) Tim Johnson, Senator John Thune and Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin have been strong supporters of wind energy in South Dakota and are working hard to correct those bottlenecks."

Wind will continue to claim a growing stake in South Dakota's renewable energy fortunes, officials said.

"With the addition of wind power harnessed and generated at Buffalo Ridge, South Dakota stands ready to make an even greater contribution to America's new energy economy," Herseth Sandlin said.

Extension of tax break welcomed

Iberdrola, Jan Johnson said, welcomed the one-year extension of a tax break for wind energy production - part of the $700 billion financial rescue package approved by Congress in October.

Democrats Tim Johnson and Herseth Sandlin voted against the bailout, while Thune voted for it. At the time, Johnson said he would have "preferred to see the bill strengthened before it was sent to the president." Herseth Sandlin said she "believed it was more important to get it right than to simply pass something right away."

But whatever the politics, a long-term extension of the wind tax credit would give investors and entrepreneurs the certainty they need to begin projects, Herseth Sandlin said.

"In Congress, I have voted in favor of a long-term extension of the Production Tax Credit several times," she said.

This project would dwarf the current largest wind farm in the state, Acciona Energy's 88.5-megawatt Tatanka farm in McPherson County. The $381 million Tatanka project has 59 turbines in South Dakota and 69 turbines in North Dakota. Tatanka went online in July.

How many turbines Buffalo Ridge II would erect still is being studied, Iberdrola's Johnson said.

"We've not landed on a turbine yet," she said. "But we're looking at a variety of options, either 1.5-megawatt turbines or up to 2.5-megawatt turbines."

To generate 306 megawatts of power, the company either could put up 204 1.5-megawatt turbines or 123 2.5-megawatt turbines. A single turbine costs $2 million.

Buffalo Ridge turbines would dominate White's skyline, rising from 262 to 328 feet above the prairie.

"Hey, we need to look at measures to generate our own energy instead of using all of our oil," Brown said. "Wind energy is beneficial to the whole area, as well as the country."