Depending on whom you talk to, emerging plans to build 765,000 volt transmission lines to bring power from the "Saudi Arabia of wind" in the Dakotas to population centers in the Midwest and East Coast are either vital to the nation or a boondoggle waiting to happen. "This state has vast resources it can't use without building new power lines," says Mr. Nelson, gesturing at lines on a grid map at the East River Electric Power Cooperative in Madison, where he is manager.

The looming expiration date and uncertainty about whether Congress will extend the so-called renewable energy production tax credit is making it more difficult for wind project developers to line up financing, industry officials say. According to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, 25 wind energy companies have expressed an interest in developing about 1,000 megawatts of wind power in the state during the next few years. ... "This isn't emergency spending," said Herseth Sandlin, a member of the Blue Dog Coalition. Johnson agreed that they need to find a way to pay for the extension.

Whooping cranes, one of the world's rarest birds, have waged a valiant battle against extinction. But federal officials warn of a new potential threat to the endangered whoopers: wind farms. Down to as few as 16 in 1941, the gargantuan birds that migrate 2,400 miles each fall from Canada to Texas, thanks to conservation efforts, now number about 266. But because wind energy, one of the fastest growing sources of renewable energy, has gained such traction, whooping cranes could again be at risk - from either crashing into the towering wind turbines and transmission lines or because of habitat lost to the wind farms. "Basically you can overlay the strongest, best areas for wind turbine development with the whooping crane migration corridor," said Tom Stehn, whooping crane coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"...we have to get the equivalent of an interstate highway system to get wind from where it's generated to where it's needed," said Thune. That's where large transmission lines like these will come in. "Getting power generated here is one thing, but getting it out to the customers where the demand is is another," ...

The U.S. Senate has passed Amendment #1609, an energy transmission infrastructure amendment to the recently passed energy bill. Proposed by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the infrastructure amendment would encourage the creation of energy corridors to facilitate the transference of wind energy generated in South Dakota to high-demand areas, according to Thune's office. "This legislation is critical to promoting the development of wind energy in South Dakota and around the country. As the windiest state in the nation, South Dakota will greatly benefit from these provisions. Today's vote in the Senate is a major step in the direction of clean, alternative energy," Thune says.

DEADWOOD, S.D. - Discussions over clean energy opened the 2007 Western Governors' Association's recent annual meeting in the Black Hills. Ten of the 19 governors were in attendance and elected officials from Canada were also present. Clean energy was not the only topic for the meeting June 10 - 12, but it took up a good portion of event. Carbon capturing and sequestration, or CCS - the process of capturing CO2 emissions for storage underground - was discussed at length. Western states have had to rely most recently on fossil fuel as a power source because a seven-year drought has substantially reduced the flow of water to hydroelectric dams on the Missouri River. The hydro power from those dams is allocated through the Western Area Power Administration.

Washington (AP) Senator John Thune is pushing provisions that would promote the development of wind energy as the Senate debates a new energy bill. The Senate today passed a Thune amendment that would promote the development of energy transmission infrastructure. It would promote the creation of "energy corridors" that would make it easier to transfer wind energy to high-demand areas. Thune says South Dakota already has the wind energy and that the missing link is the way to deliver the energy. Also today, the Senate Finance Committee passed energy legislation that would extend a production tax credit for wind energy. That bill will be added to the energy legislation being considered by the full Senate.

Renewable energy is proving to be an oasis of cooperation amid conflict in Congress, but technology probably will determine how long that lasts and how much South Dakota benefits. A U.S. Senate committee last week passed a measure by a 20-3 vote increasing ethanol production seven-fold. The majority included a proxy vote by Sen. Tim Johnson, according to a spokeswoman. Sen. John Thune proposed a major tax break for wind energy, and this week will hear arguments for increasing vehicle fuel-economy standards.

Knight & Carver will make conventional turbine blades at first. But earlier this month, it made a single curved blade designed to tap into low-speed winds not captured with current technology. South Dakota is one of the windiest places in the nation, yet it trails neighboring states in developing wind energy. The new facility is part of an effort to find a niche in the emerging industry while bringing technology jobs to rural areas.

WASHINGTON — Southern California and the urban centers from Northern Virginia to New York face the most critical power grid problems, but such remote areas as Montana and the Dakotas may need new transmission lines in the near future, an Energy Department report warns.