By Jolene Farley
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved by a 4-1 vote Thursday a new power line designed to carry wind energy from the Buffalo Ridge to the metro area.
The PUC decision is expected to dramatically pick up the pace of wind development in Minnesota, specifically in Rock County.
Mark Willers, president of the local wind power investment group Minwind I, testified at PUC hearings that construction of the line was vital for wind industry growth in southwest Minnesota.
"We testified before the PUC hearing, that this is what we needed," said Minwind II President Tom Arends, Luverne.
Arends said that the Minwind groups wouldn’t have the option to expand in Rock County unless another line was built to transmit the wind energy generated.
The power line, projected to be in service by 2006 and proposed by Xcel Energy, was approved with the requirement that 825 megawatts of wind power be built in the same time frame as the line.
A second condition imposed by the PUC requires Xcel Energy to purchase up to 60 megawatts of the total from wind developments owned locally by farmers, communities and small businesses in southwest Minnesota.
Nobles County Commissioner David Benson, chair of the Rural Minnesota Energy Task Force, and George Crocker, North American Water Office, were both instrumental in persuading the PUC to adopt the second condition.
Crocker declared it an important step in the right direction for farmers that want to participate in the economic opportunity of wind power.
"This will be welcome news to the 250 farmers who met in Adrian to talk about owning their own wind turbines, and to the scores of Minnesota communities struggling to diversify rural economies," Benson said.
The result of the PUC decision is that about 365 megawatts of additional wind power, or about 250 to 400 modern utility-sized wind turbines, will be built within the next four years.
These turbines are capable of providing the annual energy needs for more than 150,000 Minnesota homes.
Xcel Energy currently has 460 megawatts of wind power installed or under contract.
The Minwind groups, both Limited Liability Corporations, each spent $1.6 million to build four turbines three miles southeast of Beaver Creek or seven miles southwest of Luverne.
The groups are unique because they are the first in the state to own turbines. Most are owned by power companies, which then lease the land from individuals.
"It’s a very exciting time for us," Arends said. "We just would like to see Rock County benefit from all of the wind energy, and we’re going to work toward that goal."
