SD Wind Can Generate 22 Percent Of Electricity

A new report from the U.S. Energy Department says that South Dakota in 2011 had the capacity to generate about 22 percent of its electricity from wind energy, ranking first among all states.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu says that wind power represented 32 percent of all new electric capacity additions in the United States last year and accounted for $14 billion in new investment.

The department says that the percentage of wind equipment made in America also increased dramatically.

Nearly 70 percent of the wind turbines, towers, blades, gears and generators installed at U.S. wind farms last year come from domestic manufacturers, doubling from 35 percent in 2005.

Aberdeen's Molded Fiber Glass manufactures turbine blades in South Dakota.