Minnesota Power Gets Closer to Building North Dakota's Largest Wind Energy Facility

Energy Resource, Sept 19, 2006

ENERGY RESOURCE-19 September 2006-Minnesota Power Gets Closer to Building North Dakota's Largest Wind Energy Facility(C)2006 JeraOne - http://www.jeraone.com

The largest wind energy facility in North Dakota is closer to becoming a reality as Minnesota Power yesterday awaited a cargo ship from Sweden, the BBC India, to arrive in the Duluth, Ohio, Harbor carrying a shipment of windmill blades, turbines and equipment.

Minnesota Power, an ALLETE company, announced last April that it is partnering with FPL Energy to create the Oliver County Wind Energy Center, which will generate up to 50.6 megawatts of clean, renewable wind energy.

The windmill components will be transferred from the ship to large specially designed flatbed trucks for the 500-mile ground trip to North Dakota. A subsidiary of FPL Energy will own and operate the facility and Minnesota Power will purchase all of the energy. The facility is expected to go on line by the end of 2006.

"These windmills are just incredible from the standpoint of their size," said Eric Norberg, Minnesota Power Vice President-Strategic Initiatives. "The blades are large enough so that they can catch a lot of the strong wind coming off the North Dakota prairies. The rotating blade diameter of 93 meters (305 feet) will be the largest in the Midwest."

The Oliver County Wind Energy Center will consist of a total of 22 wind turbines. Each of the structures will be 80 meters tall (262 feet) to the center of the blade hub.

In addition to wind energy, Minnesota Power, which provides electricity in a 26,000-square-mile electric service territory located in northeastern Minnesota, is actively pursuing additional hydroelectric, biomass, and community-based electric generation opportunities. The state of Minnesota has encouraged state utilities to utilize renewable energy sources for 10 percent of their electric generation by 2015. Minnesota Power expects to exceed this goal.

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