It's a major player in President Barack Obama's plan to fuel the economy, but new projects this year to capture electricity from wind are expected to slow considerably because of the global financial crisis.

The wind industry shattered all previous records for growth in 2008, but a tightening global credit market could mean a dip in new wind projects in 2009 - as much as 50 percent across the U.S., according to the American Wind Energy Association.

Last year, the U.S. surged ahead of Germany to become the world's leader in wind investment, and South Dakota is fourth in the nation for wind potential. But this year, progress is stalling.

"Momentum is going to slow projects in 2009," said Christine Real de Azua, assistant director of communications with the AWEA. "There will be repercussions down the chain. It's about trends, and 2008 was such a big year. But wind will continue to be a viable player, there's no doubt about that."

"In South Dakota, I think you'll see a pause in the process," said Steve Wegman, director of the newly formed South Dakota Wind Energy Association. "But by 2010, when the capital markets start to loosen up, everything will be in place for wind to take off. Everybody in the state has this year to study up, because it's going to be rock 'n' roll after that."

Stimulus boost

Included in the $787 billion economic recovery plan Obama signed recently is $43 billion for renewable energy development - and a three-year production tax credit extension for new wind energy projects. There's the option, available to many developers, of turning the credit into cash, with the government underwriting 30 percent of a project's cost.

"That economic stimulus will help wind projects in South Dakota, and everywhere else," said Howard Learner, president and executive director with the Environmental Law & Policy Center. "Wind energy, like everything else, is not immune to economic forces. Some projects will be stalled ... Do I think everything will go forward in 2009? Probably not."

The center has 40 staff members and a $6 million budget to push "environmental legal advocacy and eco-business innovation organization" according to its Web site. Learner said the recovery package, combined with the nation's thirst for renewable power, will continue to favor South Dakota's wind industry.

"Wind makes sense in rural areas, where stimulus is needed the most - South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa," he said. "This is about job creation - good, new clean jobs. And that's why wind is going to continue to be robust. It just makes good sense, good policy sense."

S.D.'s potential

It also helps that members of South Dakota's Congressional delegation are all strong supporters of the state's wind industry, which has the potential to supply 117,200 megawatts of wind-generated energy - or enough to power 35 million homes.

"The important point to make to South Dakotans, when people are trying to do calculations on how much is being spent for each job being created, is to look at the short-term impacts and the long term," said Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, D-S.D. "We have authorized a three-year extension of the Wind Production Tax Credit. We've struggled in the last few Congresses to get just a one-year extension. Now when they have three years, that is an essential and significant step to send a message to the credit markets that this is an industry that is a safer investment as far as the lending they do."

Wind energy development in the state won't come to a standstill in 2009, experts said.

The good news

Oregon-based Iberdrola Renewables Inc. plans to go ahead with a 306-megawatt wind farm spread across 77 acres in Brookings and Deuel counties, a project that would nearly triple the state's total production of wind energy. Buffalo Ridge II would join the 54-megawatt Minn-Dakota farm and the 55-megawatt Buffalo Ridge I. The $700 million project includes a 13-mile, 115-kilovolt overhead transmission line that would connect to an existing collection substation near Brookings.

Britton-based Dakota Wind Energy will go ahead with its plan to form South Dakota's first utility-scale, community-owned wind project. The project, planned for Roberts, Marshall and Day counties, includes 200 to 300 turbines spread across 700 square miles of agricultural land. "We've been a little more conservative, but we're confident that we'll reach our goals," said Dakota Wind spokeswoman Erin Edholm.

Not-so-good news

Construction of the Tower Tech Systems manufacturing plant at the Corson Industrial Park is being delayed while the company completes another plant at Abilene, Texas, said spokesman Jeff Lambert. The plant will make the 200-foot-tall towers that support turbine blades. Tower Tech is expected to employ 150 people, and construction of the plant should be completed in 2009.

Earlier this month, Molded Fiber Glass Cos. laid off 30 workers in its Aberdeen blade manufacturing plant. The plant employed about 220 workers as of October.

"The October meltdown of the world's economy has locked up new projects for wind energy," said Richard Morrison, chief executive of the Ohio-based company. "There's a temporary hold on wind energy projects, and that has affected our industry. But it will get going again."

Molded Fiber Glass' contraction might end up helping the state's third-largest city, said Mike Levsen, Aberdeen's mayor and city manager. The Aberdeen Development Corp. built the $25 million, 334,000-square-foot plant the company leases. At full production, the plant needs 750 workers.

"If there's a silver lining to this, it gives us extra time to find recruits. We were having trouble finding 300 (workers)," Levsen said. "The best thing about this is it's a delayed position, not a cancelled position. We just need to get some money flowing again."