Six Native American Tribes Back Potential 2-GW South Dakota Wind Project

Black Hills Pioneer, by Heather Murschel & Adam Hurlburt, June 27, 2013

Six Native American tribes in South Dakota have joined in an effort to push for the development of the Sioux Wind project, which could deliver up to 2 gigawatts of power from at least six interconnected sites. In an unprecedented move, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, and Yankton Sioux Tribe united to advocate for an opportunity to tap into wind energy resources that exist on their lands by using a model that differs from the standard model used to develop wind energy, and other forms of renewable resources in the past. If built, the facility could provide more power than all the existing wind farms in South Dakota combined. The tribes reportedly are taking their time to study the proposal and are not driven by this year's deadline to qualify for the wind-energy Production Tax Credit. In South Dakota, tribal lands cover 16 percent of the state and have the capacity to develop as much as 58-gigawatts of power.

http://www.bhpioneer.com/local_news/article_466ebc1c-df45-11e2-beac-001a4bcf887a.html