The Winds of Change

On our way to Cammack Ranch Supply in Union Center we passed through Highmore and headed due south. It became apparent to us that the times are changing with regards to our energy supply as we approached yet another wind project about 10 miles out of Highmore, SD. It was beautiful to see the wheat field waving at the base of the first turbine we approached, leading our gazes towards a vegetable garden and then out to pasture for the cattle. It is great to see farming and ranching taking place around the projects.

At the small interpretive set up across the street from the sub station collecting the windy power, there was a statement about the Basin Electric Co. customers requesting renewable energy. This is a good indication that the phone calls coming from energy consumers to their power providers asking for renewables is making a difference, and shouldn’t cease.

Though it isn’t a locally owned project, it is still benefiting the surrounding community by paying landowners a set amount per turbine per year. As we move forward in reaching energy independence I hope and expect to see the legislation require a certain percentage of new projects to be locally owned. Locally owned projects bring five times the return back into the community than out of state owned projects such as Florida Power and Light. A good community/locally owned wind resource is www.windustry.org