Prairie Wind: A Comparison of News Media Coverage in Saskatchewan and North Dakota.

Renewable energy transition (Government policy); Wind power; Prairies

North Dakota; Saskatchewan

North Dakota is a significant producer of wind energy in the United States. In the first decades of this century, the state went from almost zero production to over 25% of its electricity sourced from wind energy. Across the border in Canada, the province of Saskatchewan—which has the same wind capacity as North Dakota—did not develop wind energy during this same time period. This paper looks at print news media coverage of renewable energy, especially wind energy, in the two jurisdictions between 2009–2018. The main finding is that news media coverage of renewable energy is similar despite the very different wind energy portfolios. This suggests a possible disjoint between the media and public discourse on renewable energy politics. Regardless of the size of the renewable energy sector, the media reports very little on it. Overall, the study concludes that more robust discussions around the environment-energy nexus would be beneficial as the jurisdictions continue to grow their energy portfolios and potentially transition toward more renewable energies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]