Generating renewable energy and driving the future of wind powerLocated in the midwest of the USA our wind power project near Chamberlain in the state of South Dakota generates electricity from renewable sources. 108 wind turbines with a total capacity of 162 MW supply the national power grid with 527,858 MWh per year. This emission-free power generation makes a valuable contribution to climate action: The project activities save about 432,120 tonnes of CO2 per year as the amount of electricity would otherwise have been generated using fossil fuel-based power plants.
This project is also the first-of-its-kind community wind investment partnership, and its turbines are used to educate future wind technicians. Mitchell Technical Institute uses the turbine as part of the school’s wind turbine technology program. This unique relationship allows future engineers to gain hands-on technical experience. Additionally, 200 construction jobs were generated during the installation of the wind farm.
How wind energy contributes to climate actionAs the name suggests, wind turbines use the power of the wind to generate energy. During this process, a generator located inside the wind turbine converts kinetic energy into electrical energy. As energy is still mainly generated from fossil fuels in many areas around the world, clean wind energy can replace some of this fossil, high-emission energy and verifiably save CO2 emissions.
In most cases, the sustainably generated electricity from the wind power projects is fed into a regional power grid, which diversifies the power supply and improves energy security in regions that are frequently affected by power shortages and outages. A project often creates increased job opportunities for the local population and the area can be used for additional activities, such as agriculture. Wind power projects make an important contribution to a clean energy supply worldwide and contribute to sustainable development with respect to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Wind energy projects in the ClimatePartner portfolio are registered with international standards.
