SD Senate Passes Incentives For Wind Projects

The South Dakota Senate has approved a measure that would provide financial incentives to encourage construction of wind power projects in the state.

The Senate voted 26-7 to send the proposal to the House of Representatives.

The bill would give a wind project an incentive payment roughly equal to 2 percent of the construction cost, but wind farms would pay higher taxes later after they begin operating.

The bill's main sponsor, Sen. Larry Rhoden of Union Center, says an incentive payment is needed because South Dakota taxes applied during construction of a wind farm are far higher than those imposed in nearby states.

But Sen. David Omdahl of Sioux Falls says he opposes incentives because such projects should stand on their own without government subsidies.