North Dakota should push for 10,000 megawatts of wind power development in the next 12 years along with local ownership of wind projects, the Democratic candidate for governor says. Mathern said his administration would advocate the creation of a state renewable power “czar” who would have broad responsibility for encouraging wind development, the sale of wind power and construction of transmission lines to carry the electricity.
By year’s end, North Dakota expects to have the capacity to generate more than 700 megawatts of wind power. A Hoeven-appointed energy development commission has suggested the state should generate at least 1,500 megawatts of electricity from wind by 2020.
Mathern on Wednesday said the development pace should be much more ambitious. His administration will have goals of 10,000 megawatts of capacity by 2020. and 15,000 megawatts by 2030, he said.
Neighboring Minnesota, which has less wind energy potential than North Dakota, is producing much more wind-generated electricity because of aggressive state government policies to promote wind power, Mathern said.
The American Wind Energy Association, a national trade group, says Minnesota now produces about 1,366 megawatts of wind-generated electricity compared with 345 megawatts in North Dakota. Both states expect to add to that total by year’s end.
North Dakota’s wind energy potential is 138,400 megawatts, compared to Minnesota’s 75,000, the association says.
Almost all North Dakota’s wind development is being financed by private utilities. The most prolific developer is FPL Energy, of Juno Beach, Fla., which owns about 80 percent of North Dakota’s wind energy generation.
– from canadianbusiness