Federal Energy Regulatory Commission passes new ruling on wind power
Air Date:01/19/2010
By Jackelyn Severin
A recent ruling by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could stifle wind development in the Midwest says South Dakota Senator Frank Kloucek. The temporary ruling requires Midwest ISO wind generators and other wind power companies to pay 90 percent of the cost for transmission networks. The FERC will revisit the ruling this July.
Before the ruling, the cost for transmitting wind power was a 50/50 split between wind power companies and transmission line companies. Senator Kloucek says the ruling comes after complaints from Ottertail Power on the current system. He says citizens should contact their congressmen to get the policy changed.
Kloucek says, "We need to do some things with wind power and keep it continuing to grow in the Midwest and this is the opposite of what we need to do, the absolute opposite. This couldn’t have been a worse ruling at a worse time in our history for wind development."
Kloucek says he is bringing resolutions to the South Dakota legislature to keep wind power going in the Midwest and several bills to promote community based wind and tax rebates for smaller wind projects.
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