About Us

Crownbutte Wind Power was established in 1999 with the purpose of addressing the need for regional utility companies to satisfy increasing public demands for renewable energy, and also to construct wind park projects that can be fitted into those utilities’ existing transmission infrastructures. With that in mind, Crownbutte developed and installed the first utility-scale wind project in the Dakotas at Chamberlain, South Dakota, and later sold this park to one of the largest power cooperatives in the United States. By concentrating on the carrying capacities of the accessible transmission systems in relationship to excellent wind resource locations, two more projects have subsequently been planned, developed and sold. Crownbutte now has a pipeline of over 600 Megawatts under development.

Crownbutte’s strategy is to develop, own and operate wind parks in prime wind resource locations which have access to existing and planned transmission systems. With the gradual deregulation of energy markets by the federal government over recent decades, along with increasing public interest in electrical generation from wind, new markets for wind generation have opened for many of the parks Crownbutte is currently developing. The firm is presently working on mid-size utility-scale wind energy facilities, because it has identified locations at which electrical generation from parks of 20 MW to 60 MW could be introduced into the existing transmission system without expensive upgrades, and where the prevailing wind velocities promise net production capacities of 40% or better.

North Dakota lies in the Northern Great Plains and in the geographical center of the North American Continent, where semi-desert climatic conditions in combination with annual temperature extremes, prevent significant forestation of the enormous steppe. This continental climate is the main contributor to high wind speeds, and North Dakota is rated as the top state in wind potential, with Texas in second position, while South Dakota, Montana, and Kansas are practically tied for the number three spot. Crownbutte either operates, or is developing, wind facilities in all of these states except Kansas.