| USA & Sweden. Cargo vessel BBC India delivers giant wind turbine systems to Duluth Harbor |
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| Wednesday, 20 September 2006 | |
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Environmental news: A cargo ship from Sweden, the BBC India, is expected to arrive at the Duluth Harbor carrying a shipment of windmill blades, turbines and equipment that when assembled will become the largest wind energy facility in North Dakota. Minnesota Power, an ALLETE company (NYSE:ALE), announced last April that it is partnering with FPL Energy to create the Oliver County Wind Energy Center, which will generate up to 50.6 Megawatts of clean, renewable wind energy. The windmill components will be transferred from the ship to large specially-designed flatbed trucks for the 500-mile ground trek to North Dakota. A subsidiary of FPL Energy will own and operate the facility and Minnesota Power will purchase all of the energy. The facility is expected to go on line by the end of 2006. "These windmills are just incredible from the standpoint of their size," said Eric Norberg, Minnesota Power Vice President-Strategic Initiatives. "The blades are large enough so that they can catch a lot of the strong wind coming off the North Dakota prairies. The rotating blade diameter of 93 meters (305 feet), will be the largest in the Midwest." The Oliver County Wind Energy Center will consist of a total of 22 wind turbines. Each of the structures will be 80 meters tall (262 feet) to the center of the blade hub. Wind energy is just part of Minnesota Power's growing renewable energy portfolio. Besides wind energy, Minnesota Power is actively pursuing additional hydroelectric, biomass, and community-based electric generation opportunities. The State of Minnesota has encouraged state utilities to utilize renewable energy sources for ten percent of their electric generation by 2015. Minnesota Power expects to exceed this goal. |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 20 September 2006 ) |
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