Rosebud Sioux to own and operate large-scale wind turbine

Dakota wind is more than a myth. One South Dakota tribe is using wind farm technology to drive economic development.

The Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council of Rosebud, S.D., reached an agreement with NativeEnergy, of North Ferrisburgh, Vt., to help the tribe finance construction of the first large-scale Native American-owned wind turbine in the country. The May 7 agreement set the project in motion after being stalled for about a year while the parties worked out energy sales and funding issues.

The project began as the Rosebud Utility Commission's first step in providing clean energy at a competitive cost to meet tribal community needs and to access off-reservation markets.

WindBuilders program aids environment

Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council Chairman William Kindle said, "Tribal leaders see this first turbine as the start of an economic development initiative that will bring a vital industry to the reservation."

The Tribal Council's Wind Turbine Project will initially use one 750 kilowatt NEG Micon wind turbine. The turbine will stand on a 170-foot tubular tower and have three blades spanning a 150-foot diameter.

The gearbox and generator are enclosed on top of the tower. Cables transmit turbine-generated electricity to a transformer at the base of the tower, and then to the local electric distribution line. The wind turbine begins generating electricity when wind speeds exceed 8 mph. It reaches the maximum 750-kW rating at 31 mph. The turbine will shut down when wind speeds exceed 55 mph. The average wind speed at the site is about 17.9 mph at 155 feet above ground, and the initial turbine is expected to produce about 2.4 million kilowatthours of clean electricity each year—enough to supply about 200 homes.

Reducing global warming

"We appreciate NativeEnergy's help in getting this first turbine built, and we're excited with how their WindBuilders program engages people in the fight against global warming by helping build new wind farms," said Kindle.

NativeEnergy's WindBuilders program offers customers memberships that help finance development and construction of Tribal Council's Wind Turbine Project for pennies a day. For 33 cents a day, customers can reduce global warming as much as taking two average cars off the road for a year.

WindBuilders membership dues are used to purchase all the power that will be generated by the Council's Wind Turbine Project over a 25-year term—the turbine's expected operating life. The turbine power purchased for WindBuilders members represents the environmental benefits of the electricity generated by the wind farm, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions.

When the project is completed in September, WindBuilders will purchase a 300-kW share of the wind turbine for the first five years. WindBuilders will purchase the full 750-kW for remaining years. Based on the average expected performance of the wind turbine and recent data for the average emissions of power plants in the local power control area, each one-year WindBuilders membership is designed to keep up to 12 tons of CO2 out of the air.

The Council's Wind Turbine Project is located on the Rosebud Sioux reservation in south-central South Dakota. The Department of Energy and the EPRI microturbine research service, Disgen, Inc., have also provided funding and development services.

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