1. South Dakota Wind Energy
SDREA Legal Seminar
July 11, 2018
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

2. Siting
The PUC issues permits to construct transmission lines, hydrocarbon pipelines, energy conversion facilities, and wind energy facilities 100 MWs or greater
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

3. Role of the PUC The PUC has three options with a siting permit:
Grant
Deny
Grant with conditions
Time Requirements
12 months for energy conversion facilities, transmission lines, and pipelines
6 months for wind farms
(SDCL 49-41B and ARSD 20:10:22)
PUC does not have the authority to move or reroute a pipeline route.
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4. What does the PUC consider?
1) Facility will comply with all applicable laws and rules;
2) Facility will not pose a threat of serious injury to the environment nor to the social and economic condition of inhabitants or expected inhabitants in the siting area;
3) Facility will not substantially impair the health, safety or welfare of the inhabitants; and
4) Facility will not unduly interfere with the orderly development of the region with due consideration having been given to the views of governing bodies of affected local units of government.
Applicant’s Burden of Proof (SDCL 49-41B-22)
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5. Wind Siting 6-month Timeline
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6. Current Wind Applications (920 MWs)
Prevailing Wind Park
220 MW
Bon Homme, Hutchinson, and Charles Mix Counties
Developer: sPower
Crocker Wind Farm
400 MWs
Clark County
Developer: Geronimo
Permit Issued with Conditions
Dakota Range I and Dakota Range II
Two, 150 MW Projects
Grant and Codington Counties
Developer: Apex Clean Energy
Permit to be Issued with Conditions
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

7. Potential Wind Applications (1,550 MWs)
Crowned Ridge Wind I and Crowned Ridge Wind II
Two, 300 MW Projects
Grant, Deuel, and Codington Counties
Developer: NextEra Energy
Deuel Harvest Wind Farm
Two Projects, one 300 MWs and one 200 MWs
Deuel County
Developer: Invenergy
Triple H Wind Farm
250 MWs
Hughes and Hyde Counties
Developer: Infinity Renewables
Sweetland Wind Farm
200 MWs
Hand County
Developer: Scout Clean Energy
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8. South Dakota Wind Development (MW)
This graph shows the cumulative wind development in SD.
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9. Wind Energy Support
Utility/Commercial Demand and State Renewable Portfolio Standards
Benefits to State and Local Communities (Taxes)
Lease payments to landowners can be substantial
Typical leaseholders earn $3,000 - $20,000 per tower per year
Temporary construction jobs
Small number of permanent operation and maintenance jobs
Possibility of permanent manufacturing jobs
No emissions
No fuel costs
Reduced dependence on fossil fuels
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10. SD Wind Taxes Nameplate Tax: $3/kW Production Tax: $0.00045/kWh
100% to local community
50% to schools
35% to counties
15% to townships
Production Tax: $ /kWh
80% to state
20% to local community
Same allocation as nameplate tax
School district’s wind tax revenue
Years 1-5: 100% of tax revenue outside state-aid formula and not counted as local effort
Year 6: 80% outside formula and not counted
Year 7: 60% outside formula and not counted
Year 8: 40% outside formula and not counted
Year 9: 20% outside formula and not counted
Years 10 and beyond: all tax revenue inside formula and counted as local effort
This is for new projects.
Some older projects may be taxed at $ /kWh for production if they were operational before the tax law changed.
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

11. Wind Energy Opposition
Noise
Typically limited to a certain noise threshold (e.g. 45 dba at residences)
Safety/Potential Adverse Health Impacts
Wind Turbine Syndrome due to Infrasound
Ice throw
Shadow Flicker
Typically limited to a certain amount of hours per year at residences
Property Value Impact
Aesthetics
Blinking red aviation lights at night – can be mitigated with Aircraft Detection Lighting System (ADLS)
Wind turbines on the landscape
Impact on wildlife (e.g. birds and bats) and habitat (e.g. grasslands)
Tax Subsidies
These are some common concerns we hear about.
A lot of the concerns can be mitigated through proper siting of wind turbines
The impact to property values is a concern from nearby landowners since they believe people would not want to move into an area surrounded by wind turbines
Aesthetics are a concern – new radar technology was recently approved by FAA to only turn blinking aviation lights on when low flying aircraft are nearby – Is mitigation possible for wind turbines on the landscape? It is in the eye of the beholder. Some like to see turbines, some hate to see them.
A lot of research is done on impact to wildlife – some wind farm permits have a requirement to shutdown the turbines if Whooping cranes are spotted in the area. Wind industry is continually developing ways to mitigate wildlife impacts.
One not listed is that developers want to “site the box” meaning that nearby neighbors
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12. PTC Value (100 MWs @ 43.1% CF) $86,837,880 PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
100 MWs x 8,760 hrs/year x 43.1% CF = 377,556 MWhs/year
$23/MWh x 377,556 MWhs/year = $8,683,788/year
10 Years x $8,683,788 = $86,837,880
Calculated for project that receives full PTC in 2016
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

13. Future Wind? MISO SPP PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
Interconnection queues show interest by developers in accessing the grid.
MISO region had about 37 GWs of wind in the queue at end of Currently ~30.5 GWs in queue
The last I checked, the Big Stone South substation had ~4500 MWs in the queue for that one substation by Milbank.
A lot of competing projects in the queue so some will fall out..
Historically, about 10% of the queue gets built
Source: (pg. 40 of 638)
Source:
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

14. PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
Shows where projects are looking at interconnecting to the Grid
Source:
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15. PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
Move to back -Belle Fourche Wind Farm is also under construction.
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

16. Thank you Darren Kearney Utility Analyst (SD PUC)
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION