First turbine topped out at PrairieWinds SD’s Crow Lake Wind Project

At about 5:30 p.m. on November 2, 2010, the first turbine, numbered E69, was topped out at the Crow Lake Wind Project in south-central South Dakota.

First turbine topped out at PrairieWinds SD 1's Crow Lake Wind Project.

The Crow Lake Wind Project will consist of 108 turbines located throughout Aurora, Brule and Jerauld Counties just east of Chamberlain, SD.

This is called flying the rotor on a wind turbine. The rotor is the hub (to which the blades are attached) and the blades together as a unit.

A subsidiary of Basin Electric, PrairieWinds SD 1 Inc., will own and operate 101 turbines, one of which will be used by Mitchell Technical Institute.

Another seven turbines will be owned by South Dakota Wind Partners. PrairieWinds will construct the seven turbines for the Wind Partners and operate them. Through PrairieWinds, Basin Electric will purchase the electricity that’s produced from those turbines. The Wind Partners announced in late September they had raised the $16.8 million required from South Dakota investors for their part of the project.