Conditional construction permit granted to South Dakota Wind Farm
A construction permit was authorized for the Deuel Harvest North Wind Farm in South Dakota this week, so long as the facility meets the recommended conditions.
Those conditions, established by the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, hold that the site must, among other things, maintain certain road conditions during construction, protect the habitats of various threatened or endangered species, address avian and bat deaths caused by turbine blades, and establish aircraft detection lighting systems. The facility would install 112 wind turbines and their associated facilities in Deuel County, S.D., spreading its installation across a 48,730-acre area.
“The commission has to base its decision on what has been presented in the record and what state law allows us to do,” PUC Vice Chairman Chris Nelson said. “Sometimes the supporting evidence we’d like to see isn’t there, but I think we were able to develop appropriate conditions with the information we have.”
A buyer for the 310.1 megawatts of energy expected to be produced by the facility has not yet been announced. The project is expected to cost $400 million and conclude in 2020.
