Otter Tail Power Co. to purchase new wind farm in North Dakota
Otter Tail Power Co. recently signed an agreement to purchase a 150-megawatt (MW) wind farm in southeastern North Dakota that will be built by EDF Renewable Energy.
The estimated $250 million project will be built in 2019 near Merricourt and is expected to generate enough electricity to power more than 65,000 homes.
If approved by state regulatory agencies and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc. the wind project will become the largest capital project in the company’s history.
Wind energy currently supplies about 19 percent of the electricity Otter Tail Power uses to serve its customers. With this addition, customers will receive approximately 28 percent of their energy from wind.
Otter Tail Power’s resource plan addresses meeting customers’ needs over the next 15 years with a combination of energy resources it said are both affordable and reliable.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has approved Otter Tail Power’s resource plan for 2014 to 2028, which includes adding both wind and natural gas-fired generation.
“The wind energy addition is part of our company’s plan to meet our customers’ growing energy needs, replace expiring power purchase agreements, and prepare for the 2021 retirement of the aging 140-MW coal-fired Hoot Lake Plant in Fergus Falls, Minnesota,” Otter Tail Power Co. President Tim Rogelstad said.
Hoot Lake Plant Unit 2 has been on line since 1959 and Unit 3 has been in operation since 1964.
New plans also include the addition of 250 MW natural gas-fired generation within the next five years.
