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Recent posts by Lucas Nelsen

Energy Project Builds Capacity and Economic Opportunity

By Lucas Nelsen on April 10, 2013 - 1:37pm

Here at the Center for Rural Affairs we spend a lot of time working hard to create economic development opportunity in rural communities. When it comes to energy, we know this opportunity can be realized only if we further develop clean energy transmission infrastructure.

In the Dakotas, they’re doing just that. Big Stone South to Ellendale is a transmission line that will run from a new substation near Big Stone City, SD, to a proposed substation near Ellendale, ND.

Wind Energy Leading the Way in 2013

By Lucas Nelsen on April 8, 2013 - 12:00am

The U.S. has seen strong growth in the wind energy industry, and 2012 was a record year for the amount of installed capacity. Over 13,000 megawatts of capacity was installed last year according to the American Wind Energy Association, which brings the total capacity to 60,007 megawatts nationwide.

Connecting Communities

By Lucas Nelsen on March 6, 2013 - 2:24pm

Rural communities often struggle to find new and readily available economic opportunities. In the past decade, however, a new source of employment and revenue has seen fantastic growth. It seems the answer was blowin’ in the wind. Renewable energy, especially wind energy, has proved to be a very successful venture. Investment in wind energy helps rural areas immensely. It provides employment, and various types of revenue can flow into a community from a project.

Wind Power Needs Infrastructure

By Lucas Nelsen on March 4, 2013 - 12:00am

Renewable energy showed fantastic growth in 2012, accounting for 55% of new electricity generating capacity built last year. The energy produced is keeping pace with the price of fossil fuels, and shows potential to become even cheaper in the future. The Great Plains has a bright future in renewable energy sources like wind, especially in rural areas where the wind blows and space is abundant. 

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