The turbines, designed to withstand 140 mph winds, also shut themselves off to minimize gear damage when wind speed reaches 60 mph or more. After the technical explanation of the turbines and wind farms, Haley presented the reasons he believes the time is right for wind energy development in North Dakota. Today, it s less than three cents per kilowatt hour. Wind energy is the cheapest form of new energy generation. Haley shared other data showing why wind energy is favored for development in North Dakota.
Wind turbines are essentially pollution-free, except for the manufacturing process.
Most importantly, North Dakota is the windiest state in the nation. Our worst locations are better than most states best places. But some sites are better than others. It makes sense to develop the windiest sites first. More than 20 commercial development groups from around the world are formally pursuing wind energy development in the state today, according to Haley.