watch live
Great River was planning to invest $1.6 billion to build 800 megawatts of wind farms in the Coal Creek area to help compensate for closing the power plant.
Nearby, Mercer County passed a two-year moratorium on wind energy development, a move that threatens the 152-megawatt Garrison Butte Wind Farm, expected to create 150 construction jobs and generate millions of dollars in payments to landowners and local governments.
The backlash in coal country against the wind industry is both costly and misguided, according to a pro-wind group, North Dakotans for Comprehensive Energy Solutions.
“What’s happening to the coal industry is not based on decisions created by the wind industry,” said Bob Harms of the group, which represents the wind energy industry. “That’s an illusion.”