196.5-megawatt Ashtabula Wind Energy Center is inaugurated in North Dakota

NextEra currently owns seven wind energy projects in North Dakota, with a combined generating capacity of more than
500 megawatts. Image courtesy of NextEra Energy
Resources, LLC/ FPL Group

The 196.5-megawatt (MW) Ashtabula Wind Energy Center was inaugurated on June 17 in North Dakota. The wind farm is majority-owned by NextEra Energy Resources, with a smaller stake owned by Otter Tail Power Company. It will provide power for the Minnkota Power Cooperative.

The wind farm located in Barnes County near Valley City consists of more than 131 wind turbines, each with a generating capacity of 1.5 MW. Thirty-two of the wind turbines, or 48 megawatts, are owned by Otter Tail Power, with the remainder owned by NextEra. NextEra is the operator for the entire wind farm. Electricity generated by Ashtabula will be sold to Minnkota Power Cooperative under a long-term deal.

NextEra currently owns seven wind energy projects in North Dakota, with a combined generating capacity of more than 500 MW. NextEra is also expanding two existing wind energy facilities.

The Minnkota Power Cooperative currently purchases 300 MW of wind energy generated in North Dakota. The additional electricity being bought from the Ashtabula site brings its total wind energy purchases to almost 25% of its total portfolio.
Otter Tail Power has added 130 MW of wind capacity sourced from North Dakota since 2003. Relative to its size, the company has one of the highest investments in wind power among all American utilities.

NextEra Energy Resources and its parent company, the FPL Group, is North America’s largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. The company has wind projects in 16 different states and in Canada, and owns and operates the world’s largest operating solar plant, the 310-MW SEGS in California’s Mojave Desert. The FPL Group had 2008 revenues exceeding $16 billion. It is listed on the NYSE as FPL.

The Otter Tail Power Company has a total generating capacity of 716 MW, with more than 130 MW coming from wind power. It commemorated 100 years of service in 2009, first starting with a single customer in North Dakota. It is part of the diversified Otter Tail Corporation, which is listed on the NASDQ as OTTR.

The Minnkota Power Cooperative supplies wholesale electricity to 11 member-owner distribution cooperatives, three of which are located in North Dakota and eight in Minnesota. It is also the operating agent for the Northern Municipal Power Agency, which serves 12 municipal utilities in its region.


-  Mike R. Lopez

Sources:

¹ http://www.nexteraenergyresources.com
² http://www.ottertail.com