{"id":358,"date":"2013-08-26T18:36:53","date_gmt":"2013-08-26T18:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/?p=358"},"modified":"2013-08-26T18:36:53","modified_gmt":"2013-08-26T18:36:53","slug":"wind-farms-in-the-upper-midwest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/wind-farms-in-the-upper-midwest\/","title":{"rendered":"Wind Farms in the Upper Midwest."},"content":{"rendered":"

Four New Wind Farms In The Upper Midwest Could Power 750,000 Homes<\/a><\/h1>\n

BY MARI HERNANDEZ, GUEST BLOGGER ON\u00a0AUGUST 24, 2013 AT 10:00 AM<\/p>\n

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\"shutterstock_123206926\"CREDIT: Shutterstock<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Last week, Minneapolis-based utility Xcel Energy proposed its\u00a0fourth wind farm<\/a>\u00a0in the Upper Midwest since mid-July. If approved, the 150-megawatt Border Winds Project would be developed in North Dakota near the U.S.-Canadian border and produce enough electricity to save customers an estimated $45 million over its lifetime while reducing annual carbon dioxide emissions by about 320,000 tons.<\/p>\n

In July, Xcel Energy \u2014 the nation\u2019s top utility for wind-based power \u2014 proposed to add\u00a0600 megawatts<\/a>\u00a0of wind energy through three wind farms in North Dakota and Minnesota. With the addition of the Border Winds Project, Xcel could save customers more than $220 million and add a total of 750 megawatts of wind power to its existing Midwest portfolio, which would bring its wind capacity total in the region to 2,550 megawatts \u2014 or enough power to serve over 750,000 homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese projects will lower our customers\u2019 bills, offer protection from rising fuel costs, and provide significant environmental benefits,\u201d Dave Sparby, CEO of Xcel subsidiary Northern States Power Co., said in a\u00a0statement<\/a>\u00a0last month. \u201cWind prices are extremely competitive right now, offering lower costs than other possible resources, like natural gas plants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xcel has submitted the four projects to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission and the North Dakota Public Service Commission for consideration and expects to hear the regulators\u2019 decisions by late fall. If approved, construction will begin immediately in order for the projects to qualify for the federal renewable energy Production Tax Credit (PTC).<\/p>\n

The PTC, which was set to expire at the end of 2012, was extended in January to projects that begin construction by the end of 2013. The tax credit provides 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity produced over the first ten years of operation.<\/p>\n

The Upper Midwest is not the only region that\u2019s benefiting from Xcel\u2019s aggressive push to add more wind power before the PTC expires. In Colorado, Xcel has asked regulators to approve a\u00a0200-megawatt<\/a>\u00a0wind farm that would save customers more than $142 million in fuel costs over the 20-year contract term.<\/p>\n

Xcel also proposed three projects totaling nearly\u00a0700 megawatts<\/a>\u00a0that would be built in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, citing a lower price per megawatt-hour for wind energy generation than their own natural gas-fueled generation. These projects are expected to save customers $590.4 million in fuel costs over 20 years.<\/p>\n

Altogether, Xcel is awaiting approval on about 1,650 megawatts of wind power that could come online before the end of the 2016, which would increase its overall wind capacity by 30 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are committed to meeting our customers\u2019 needs in clean and affordable ways,\u201d said Ben Fowke, Xcel Energy\u2019s chairman and CEO. \u201cWind power is simply the cheapest resource available right now, and we are taking the opportunity afforded by the PTC extension to further shape our systems for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mari Hernandez is a Research Associate on the Energy team at the Center for American Progress.<\/em><\/p>\n

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