By the Numbers: South Dakota’s Largest Wind Project Is Tiny Compared to Wyoming’s

South Dakota regulators recently approved the largest wind energy project in that state’s history—an $750 million development with up to 87 turbines spread across 110 square miles near Rapid City. It doesn’t come close to Wyoming’s behemoth.

Wyoming’s Chokecherry & Sierra Madre Wind Project, expected to begin construction in June, will feature more than 600 turbines at an estimated cost of $5 billion. The scale difference is staggering: South Dakota’s Philip Wind Project will generate 333 megawatts, enough to power 300,000 homes. Wyoming’s will produce 10 times that amount, serving 1.5 million to 2 million homes.

“Wyoming is not a built-up area,” said Dr. John Naughton, co-director of the University of Wyoming’s Wind Energy Research Center. Large, continuous tracts of undeveloped land make the state attractive for massive energy projects.

The economic impacts scale accordingly. CCSM will create a peak of 350 construction jobs and 30 permanent positions, with an estimated $850 million in taxes over 20 years—75% of which will fund schools. South Dakota’s project will generate about 200 construction jobs and 12 long-term positions, with $1.4 million in annual tax revenue for Haakon County.

Both states produce far more energy than they consume, meaning much of it will be exported. Wyoming’s CCSM is being built alongside the TransWest Express transmission line to supply California. South Dakota’s project has no buyer yet for its power.

Wyoming ranks second nationally in annual wind production growth at 47%, with just over 30% of its electricity coming from wind. South Dakota generates 58% of its power from wind—the third-highest percentage in the nation—and produces five times more wind power than it did in 2015.

Despite the benefits, wind development remains controversial in both states. Naughton acknowledged the “love-hate relationship” with wind energy, saying, “We typically hear, ‘It’s all great,’ or, ‘It’s all awful.’ But that’s not the whole story.”