USA, North Dakota - Minnesota Power has entered into a 25-year agreement to purchase 50 megawatts of electrical power annually

Minnesota Power has entered into a 25-year agreement to purchase 50 megawatts of electrical power annually from a new wind-generating facility proposed in North Dakota. To be operated by Florida-based FPL Energy, it would be east of Center, N.D. Construction is contingent on regulatory approvals and extension of a federal wind energy production tax credit, due to sunset at the end of 2005. Power produced at the project would be fed into a regional power grid near Center, N.D. If economics, wind studies and federal wind generation tax credits are favorable, a second wind farm could be developed next year on Minnesota's Iron Range. "We are committed to finding a project on the Iron Range of sufficient size to make it worth doing," said David McMillan, senior vice president of marketing and public affairs for Allete Inc., Minnesota Power's parent company. "The key is that we don't want to stand in the way of a higher-value use for land up there. But we are committed to this -- it's a part of our resource mix."

Depending on size, a North Dakota wind farm could produce about 2 percent of Minnesota Power's current 1,500 to 1,600 megawatts of capacity, said Paul Johnson, project development leader. The potential for wind generation on the Iron Range has been studied for years. Since 2002, Iron Range Resources, the East Range Joint Powers Board and state Department of Commerce have partnered to monitor wind speeds atop a revegetated taconite tailings basin at the former LTV Steel Mining Co. near Hoyt Lakes. FPL Energy produces about 40 percent of the nation's wind-generated electricity. In Minnesota, FPL owns a 103-megawatt wind farm in Pipestone County and has co-ownership of a 26-megawatt facility in Lincoln County. FPL also owns a 61.5 megawatt wind facilities in Lamoure County, N.D., and a 40.5 megawatt project in Hyde County, S.D.