T. Boone Pickens is generating a lot of national interest on the issue of wind power development, and North Dakota stands to benefit greatly from Pickens' plan. However, of the two candidates for North Dakota governor, only Sen. Tim Mathern recognizes this tremendous opportunity.

According to the American Wind Energy Association, North Dakota's wind energy potential is 138,400 megawatts. Mathern has set a practical goal for North Dakota of having 10,000 megawatts of electricity coming from wind power by 2020 and 15,000 megawatts by 2030. By contrast, Gov. John Hoeven has suggested the state should generate at least 1,500 megawatts of electricity from wind by 2020. Mathern's goal is 10 times that of Hoeven's.

More important, Mathern's goal could mean a $60-billion investment in North Dakota, much of which would benefit rural North Dakota. Here's how that number adds up: According to Pickens' Web site, "Building wind facilities in the corridor that stretches from the Texas panhandle to North Dakota could produce 20 percent of the electricity for the U.S. at a cost of $1 trillion. It would take another $200 billion to build the capacity to transmit that energy to cities and towns."

A May 2008 U.S. Department of Energy report, titled "20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy's Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply," is calling for an increase of about 290,000 megawatts of wind energy in order to have 20 percent of U.S. electricity coming from wind by 2030.

Mathern's wind energy goal for North Dakota represents about 5 percent of DOE's megawatt increase. And, 5 percent of Pickens' estimated $1.2 trillion wind energy investment equals $60 billion. Just imagine what a $60-billion infusion would mean for North Dakota's economy, especially if the wind farms were locally owned. Mathern's vision for wind energy development is what North Dakota needs.