ALLETE Clean Energy receives 45th set of new wind turbine blades for refurbishment project

ALLETE Clean Energy recently announced that it received the 45th set of new wind turbine blades from blade manufacturer Tecsis for its refurbishment initiative at its Storm Lake and Lake Benton wind facilities in Iowa and Minnesota.

The company announced the $80 million project in August 2017, which includes replacing select blades, gearboxes, and generators on turbines at the Lake Benton wind site in Lincoln County, Minnesota and the Storm Lake I and II wind sites in Buena Vista and Cherokee counties, Iowa. Tecsis will provide more than 300 blades for the project.

The refurbishment project will improve turbine performance and reliability, generate federal production tax credits and support the renewal of power sale agreements at the Storm Lake sites.

“Tecsis provided a cost-effective, turnkey solution that has exceeded our expectations,” Bill Sawyer, general manager of operations at ALLETE Clean Energy, said. “Tecsis has demonstrated its ability to design, manufacture and deliver blades and manage the project that will position Storm Lake and Lake Benton to continue safe, reliable and increasingly efficient clean energy production for years to come.”

The refurbishment is being staged from 2017 through 2020. More than half of the sites’ turbines have been refurbished.

In addition to turbine refurbishments, the project includes the installation of new communications infrastructure including new fiber optic connections, servers, and data acquisition and management systems.

In total, the sites generate approximately 700,000 megawatt hours of energy per year. Energy from the Lake Benton site is fully contracted through 2028. Approximately eight megawatts of Storm Lake I production is contracted through 2032. Alliant recently extended its contract from Storm Lake II through mid-2020. ALLETE Clean Energy is working to recontract the balance of the Storm Lake I power sales agreements, which expire in late 2019.