Wind decision a good one

Driving across the Nebraska Sandhills, you almost feel like you are on an ocean voyage. The undulating grass-covered hills can remind the traveler of sailing across the water. Take the right route, and the Sandhills seem almost as unpopulated as the Atlantic Ocean.

If the Nebraska Public Power District's plans come to fruition, a drive through the grass-covered waves surrounding Highway 7 may end with the feeling that one has arrived in Holland.

The proposal must be approved by the Nebraska Power Review Board, but if it is, the hills south of Ainsworth will be covered with towering windmills -- not pumping water back into the North Sea, but pumping energy into Nebraska's power grid.

After months of study, the Nebraska Public Power District voted Friday to go ahead with a plan to construct a 30-megawatt wind farm near Ainsworth, with the ability to expand up to 75 megawatts of power.

The board did not make the decision lightly. After considering 15-, 30-, 50- and 75-megawatt options, the NPPD directors chose the 30-megawatt option, which will cost an estimated $45 million.

NPPD plans to complete negotiations with the Omaha Public Power District and Jacksonville Electric Authority to take 10 megawatts each, and plans to market an additional 25 megawatts to other public entities.

The decision was also reinforced by polls of power customers who indicated they favored wind power, even if at a slightly higher cost.

"Two key goals of NPPD's strategic plan are to increase the amount of renewable energy in our generation portfolio and augment economic development in the state,"said Wayne Boyd, NPPD board chairman. "It is our fiscal responsibility to make sure it is an economical investment for our customers. The business case indicates it is."

We believe and hope Boyd is correct about the business case. But there are other factors to consider.

America is much too dependent on foreign oil, and anything we can do to increase domestic production should be encouraged, even if it isn't the cheapest option.

That goes for domestic production of oil as well; something of vital interest to Southwest Nebraska. The region has a stake in wind energy as well, with suitable sites already having been studied in the Golden Plains.

Even at 75 megawatts, the new wind farm will be far from providing a substantial portion of the region's energy needs. By comparison, NPPD's largest generation facility, the Gerald Gentleman Station near Sutherland, is capable of pumping out 1,365 megawatts of power.

But as technology and management improves, wind generation is a natural energy source of unlimited potential. When it comes to achieving energy independence, the answer, part of it, at least, may be blowin' in the wind.