The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission recently approved the construction of the Dakota Range III wind energy facility and transmission line to be built in Grant and Roberts counties. The decision lets Dakota Range III move forward with plans to erect up to 42 wind turbines capable of collectively generating up to 151.2 MW of energy.
In December, Apex Clean Energy announced a PPA with Xcel Energy for Dakota Range Wind III and the sale of the project to ENGIE.
The company will also build an eight-mile 345-kV transmission line associated with the project.
The settlement stipulation accepted by the commission includes 42 conditions Dakota Range must meet during the construction, reclamation, operation and potential decommissioning of the project. Noise levels, turbine blade ice detection, aircraft detection lighting, and shadow flicker are among the details the conditions address.
“I applaud the efficiency of the commission staff working with Dakota Range to vet, analyze, and negotiate the myriad components of this docket,” said PUC Chairman Gary Hanson. “There were no formal opponents to this project, so we did not have a contested-case evidentiary hearing. Those hearings significantly impact the activity required during the statutory six-month timeline for the PUC to decide wind energy cases,” he stated.
Dakota Range filed its wind energy facility and transmission application with the PUC on Oct. 26, 2018. The PUC held a public input hearing in Summit in December.
PUC Vice Chairman Chris Nelson reflected on the local participation at the input hearing: “I greatly appreciated the citizens of this area who spoke at our public input meeting regarding their views of how this wind farm will impact their community. Citizen input helped move this application process to the conclusion we have today,” Nelson said.
Dakota Range expects the wind facility to be in service the end of 2020. The company estimates the total cost of the project to be approximately $200 million.
The Dakota Range III docket can be viewed on the PUC’s website, Commission Actions, Commission Dockets, Electric Dockets, 2018 Electric Dockets, EL18-046 – In the Matter of the Application of Dakota Range III, LLC for a Permit of a Wind Energy Facility and a 345-kV Transmission Line in Grant and Roberts Counties.
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