Minnesota regulators have approved to add 750MW of wind power capacity on Xcel Energy’s Upper Midwest grid.
Four projects – which represent a 42 per cent increase in the company’s wind power capacity in the Upper Midwest – were approved by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Consideration by the North Dakota Public Service Commission is expected by the end of the year. Approved by Minnesota regulators were:
- Courtenay Wind Farm, a 200MW project near Jamestown, N.D., under a power purchase agreement with Geronimo Energy;
- Odell Wind Farm, a 200MW project near Windom, Minn., also under a power purchase agreement with Geronimo Energy;
- Pleasant Valley, a 200MW project near Austin, Minn., submitted by RES America Developments Inc.
- Border Winds Project, a 150MW project located in Rolette County in north central North Dakota, near the Canadian border.
All four projects are scheduled to be in service by the end of 2015.
