Project: Tatanka Wind Farm
Spread over 14,080 acres of rural land that is used for cattle grazing and agriculture, the Tatanka Wind Farm has a total of 120 turbines, 59 in South Dakota and 61 in North Dakota, and is Acciona’s largest wind farm in the world to date.
The construction of Tatanka Wind Farm began in April 2007. The facility went online July 25, 2008. Wind conditions in the Tatanka region are optimal for wind energy generation; however, the size of the Tatanka Wind Farm is limited by regional transmission capacity.
Tantanka represents the first U.S. installation of Acciona’s 1.5 MW variable speed turbines with independent hydraulic pitch control for each blade. This helps the turbine minimize loads and while capturing the maximum amount of energy.
The construction and completion of the facility brought new permanent jobs to the area and also provided new sources of revenue for the local communities through investments in local infrastructure, lease agreements with land owners, and tax revenues.
The verified carbon offsets generated by the project are certified using the Green-e® Climate Protocol for Renewable Energy. This protocol addresses the issues of tracking, additionality, and double counting in order to ensure that the greenhouse gas emission reduction benefits from the renewable energy projects are real, permanent, measurable, verifiable and additional.
The Green-e Climate Protocol for Renewable Energy establishes the eligibility requirements for grid-connected renewable energy projects in the United States, including the methodologies used to assess additionality and calculate the emission reductions, and other requirements related to tracking, prevention of double counting and double claiming, and verification.
Projects approved under the Green-e Climate Protocol for Renewable Energy, like the Tatanka Wind Farm, are eligible to supply emissions reductions to Green-e Climate certified offset products. Green-e Climate certifies the 3Degrees offset product that sources from this project. The Tantanka Wind farm is also eligible to generate Green-e Energy Certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).
The Green-e Climate program is administered by the Center for Resource Solutions, an independent, non-profit organization committed to the highest standards of consumer protection.
