Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. agrees to purchase power from wind farm expansion
Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. announced Tuesday that it signed an agreement with a subsidiary of ALLETE Clean Energy (ACE) to purchase the energy from the expansion of Thunder Spirit Wind, an ACE wind farm located near Hettinger, North Dakota.
The 25-year agreement also contains the option for Montana-Dakota to purchase the project at the close of construction. The expansion will boost Montana-Dakota’s generation portfolio from approximately 20 percent renewable energy to 25 percent.
Montana-Dakota purchased Thunder Spirit Wind in December 2015. The expansion will increase the wind farm’s generation from 107.5 megawatts (MW) to 150 MW. ACE will add 13 to 16 new turbines,
depending on the size of the turbines selected, to the wind farm’s current 43 turbines.
“Our relationship with ACE on the first phase of Thunder Spirit Wind proved to be a winning formula. We are in need of additional energy to meet our growing demands, and with the easements, interconnection to the grid and permits already in place from the first phase of Thunder Spirit Wind, it makes this a great project for Montana-Dakota,” Nicole Kivisto, Montana-Dakota president and CEO, said.
Construction of the project is expected to cost about $85 million with the facility entering service in December 2018.
