Power from the prairie

It is one of those rare times when the North Dakota prairie is silent. All is quiet, except for the call of a bird and the yip of a coyote in the distance. In this part of the country, such stillness does not last long and soon the air begins to stir. A breeze begins to flow across the land, reaching the blades of the giant wind turbinesalert sentinels on the prairie quietly waiting for the wind to bring them to life. The breeze reaches a gentle 3 mph and slowly begins rotating the wind turbine’s three giant white fiberglass blades, each 120 feet long and weighing 16,000 pounds. The breeze must then increase to 8 mph before the turbines can begin to produce electricity. At that point, the wind turbine only generates 25 kilowatts of electricityjust enough for a few homes. However, as the wind picks up more speed, the amount of power generated by the turbine increases rapidly. It is going to be another windy day on the Dakota prairie, and electricity generated from the wind begins to flow from the prairie to the cities and towns of the region. Wind energy from the Great Plains has the potential to develop into a significant energy source for the United States, and wind energy projects are beginning to appear in areas that have seen little economic activity since the Depression of the 1930s. North Dakota has often been called the “Saudi Arabia of Wind” because of the steady and consistent winds sweeping across the prairie. A study sponsored by the Department of Energy ranked North Dakota as the top U.S. state for its potential to produce wind energy. Until recently, California generated the most wind energy of any state due to its early and widespread development of wind projects; however, California’s total potential is far behind most of the Plains states, which contain good to excellent wind resources and promise to be a growing source of energy in years to come. Just recently, Texas surpassed California in wind generation and is continuing to add wind projects at a hurricane pace. More…