Seeding a ‘Homegrown’ Wind Farm in North Dakota
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October 31, 2007
Cooperstown, ND – Demand for wind energy is growing so fast, some communities in North Dakota aren't waiting for outsiders to build wind farms. In Griggs and Steele counties, local landowners and investors are developing a community-owned wind farm. The homegrown wind energy development entity is called "M-Power," and Rick Thompson is one of its founders.
"We think it would be better to do a community wind project, where more of the money could stay locally and benefit the community."
Thompson says this project has been six years in the making. It started with trips to nearby states, like Minnesota and Iowa to see how community run wind farms "grew up" there. He says even though North Dakota ranks as one of the best states for harnessing wind energy, it's not easy to get started.
"This is hard to do in North Dakota with coal-fired electricity being the principal source of energy and the limited amount of transmission lines that are available."
Thompson says to make the project a success, they'll need access to transmission lines to allow the wind-generated electricity to be sold to nearby cities and across state lines.
For more information, visit www.griggs-steeleez.org.