ScottishPower's US energy business PPM Energy has, along with Xcel Energy, announced the start of construction of a 150MW wind farm in the US.
The wind farm, the MinnDakota Wind Power Project, is being built in Brookings County in South Dakota and Lincoln County in Minnesota. It will span the wind resource-rich area on the border of South Dakota and Minnesota with approximately 50MW located in South Dakota and 100MW in Minnesota.
The 50MW will be the largest installation of wind power in South Dakota, a state with vast wind resources but transmission issues that, until now, have made it difficult to get the power from the wind to cities and other electrical loads.
Power generated by the MinnDakota project will be delivered under a long-term contract to customers of Xcel Energy. The MinnDakota project interconnects at Xcel’s newly approved Yankee substation.
As the nation’s number one provider of wind energy to retail customers, Xcel Energy will rely on South Dakota to help us double our portfolio of wind generation by the end of next year, said Paul Bonavia, president of Xcel Energy’s utilities group. We look forward to partnering with our friends from PPM Energy on this important project.
Construction is scheduled for completion by the end of 2007.