Reports related to this article:
Project(s): View 7 related projects in PECWeb
Plant(s): View 5 related plants in PECWeb
en
Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)-- Wind power project development is surging in the Dakotas, propelled by the states' high-quality wind resource, availability of land and the long-term extension of federal tax credits for renewable energy production. Industrial Info is tracking 25 active North Dakota windfarm projects valued at $10.2 billion. In addition, 16 windfarm projects are being developed for South Dakota, with total investment value (TIV) of $4.6 billion.
Twenty of these 41 projects are in a preliminary stage of planning. The value of these projects is about $9.4 billion. Another 15 projects, valued at $3.9 billion, are in an advanced state of planning, according to Industrial Info's North American Industrial Project Database.
Five projects valued at about $1.2 billion are scheduled to begin construction this year. Another 17 projects valued at approximately $4.45 billion are scheduled to begin turning dirt in 2017. And 11 other projects, with TIV of about $5.72 billion, plan to begin construction in 2018. The federal Production Tax Credit (PTC), extended for five years in late 2015, prorated tax credits depending on the year construction began on a project. Projects kicking off construction in 2016 would be eligible for the full 2.3 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity produced for 10 years. But incentives were lowered by 20 percentage points for each year after 2016 that a project began construction. Projects kicking off in 2017 were eligible to receive only 80% of that 2.3 cents per kWh credit while projects that began turning dirt in 2018 were eligible to receive only 60% of that tax credit. For more on the extension of the PTC, see December 21, 2015, article -- Renewable, Alternative Energy Industries Cheer Extensions of Tax Credits and January 15, 2016, article -- Extension of PTC and ITC Could Bring Some Renewable Energy Projects Back from the Dead.
Projects scheduled to kick off in 2016 include:
Both states have a lot of potential to add new wind generation. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) (Washington, D.C.), North Dakota's wind resource could support up to 2,870 MW of wind generation by 2020 and 4,710 MW by 2030. South Dakota's wind generation potential is 1,260 MW in 2020 and 2,400 MW in 2030, DoE said in its Wind Vision Report.
About 400 wind turbines have been erected in Western North Dakota over the last decade, and another 500 could be in place by 2018, according to a report in North Dakota's The Dickinson Press. NextEra Energy Resources has 11 windfarms operating in the state, it added.
But in the Dakotas, as elsewhere, some have opposed construction of windfarms. The North Dakota Public Service Commission (Bismarck, North Dakota), approved Phase 1 (87 turbines) and Phase 2 (72 turbines) of NextEra Energy Resources' Brady Wind Energy Center in recent weeks over local opposition.
"It's good to see windpower development growing so strongly in the Dakotas," commented Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the global Power Industry. "I hope the skilled craftspeople who have been laid off by Oil & Gas companies could find new work building windfarms in the Dakotas."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook-Twitter-LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.
Twenty of these 41 projects are in a preliminary stage of planning. The value of these projects is about $9.4 billion. Another 15 projects, valued at $3.9 billion, are in an advanced state of planning, according to Industrial Info's North American Industrial Project Database.
Five projects valued at about $1.2 billion are scheduled to begin construction this year. Another 17 projects valued at approximately $4.45 billion are scheduled to begin turning dirt in 2017. And 11 other projects, with TIV of about $5.72 billion, plan to begin construction in 2018. The federal Production Tax Credit (PTC), extended for five years in late 2015, prorated tax credits depending on the year construction began on a project. Projects kicking off construction in 2016 would be eligible for the full 2.3 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity produced for 10 years. But incentives were lowered by 20 percentage points for each year after 2016 that a project began construction. Projects kicking off in 2017 were eligible to receive only 80% of that 2.3 cents per kWh credit while projects that began turning dirt in 2018 were eligible to receive only 60% of that tax credit. For more on the extension of the PTC, see December 21, 2015, article -- Renewable, Alternative Energy Industries Cheer Extensions of Tax Credits and January 15, 2016, article -- Extension of PTC and ITC Could Bring Some Renewable Energy Projects Back from the Dead.
Projects scheduled to kick off in 2016 include:
- Phase 1 and 2 of the grassroot Brady Wind Energy Center. Each phase is a 150-megawatt (MW), $300-million project. Both are being developed by NextEra Energy Resources LLC (Juno Beach, Florida), a unit of NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida). Both phases will be located in Stark County, North Dakota. Blattner Energy Incorporated (Avon, Minnesota) is providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services to both projects. Both phases are scheduled to be completed by yearend 2016.
- Lindahl Windfarm, a 150-MW grassroot project being built near Tioga, North Dakota. This $248.5-million project, which began construction last month, has a yearend 2016 in-service date. It is being developed by TradeWind Energy LLC (Lenaxa, Kansas), and AMEC Foster Wheeler (Kennesaw, Georgia) is providing EPC services.
- Campbell County Windfarm, a 93.5-MW project being developed by a unit of Con Edison Incorporated (NYSE:ED) (New York, New York). Fagen Incorporated (Granite Falls, Minnesota) is providing EPC services to this $200-million project, which is scheduled to begin construction later this summer and be operating by mid-2017. It will be built in Campbell County, South Dakota.
- Oliver County Wind Energy Center Phase III expansion, a $150-million addition to an existing windfarm in Oliver County, North Dakota. This 100-MW project is being developed by NextEra Energy Resources LLC. Construction is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2016, and the owners plan to have the plant operating in early 2017.
Both states have a lot of potential to add new wind generation. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) (Washington, D.C.), North Dakota's wind resource could support up to 2,870 MW of wind generation by 2020 and 4,710 MW by 2030. South Dakota's wind generation potential is 1,260 MW in 2020 and 2,400 MW in 2030, DoE said in its Wind Vision Report.
About 400 wind turbines have been erected in Western North Dakota over the last decade, and another 500 could be in place by 2018, according to a report in North Dakota's The Dickinson Press. NextEra Energy Resources has 11 windfarms operating in the state, it added.
But in the Dakotas, as elsewhere, some have opposed construction of windfarms. The North Dakota Public Service Commission (Bismarck, North Dakota), approved Phase 1 (87 turbines) and Phase 2 (72 turbines) of NextEra Energy Resources' Brady Wind Energy Center in recent weeks over local opposition.
"It's good to see windpower development growing so strongly in the Dakotas," commented Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the global Power Industry. "I hope the skilled craftspeople who have been laid off by Oil & Gas companies could find new work building windfarms in the Dakotas."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook-Twitter-LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.
