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Xcel Energy will be taking over the development of a wind farm planned in Lincoln County, near Hendricks. Xcel announced Friday that it has finalized the purchase of the Blazing Star wind project, which was originally developed by Geronimo Energy.
"We're excited to be bringing these projects to reality," said Chris Clark, president of Xcel Energy-Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Besides generating electricity for customers and adding to Xcel's renewable energy portfolio, the wind farm construction will benefit the local economy, Clark said.
The Blazing Star project will be 200 megawatts, enough energy to power more than 100,000 homes. Construction on the wind turbines is planned to begin in 2019, while electrical substations and other transmission infrastructure will be built starting this year, Clark said.
The project will be built by Golden Valley-based Mortenson Construction. During construction, Blazing Star will have around 200 construction workers in the area. Once the project is operational, there will be about 12 full-time employees needed to operate and maintain the turbines, Clark said.
Blazing Star will also bring money into the local economy in the form of landowner payments, taxes and production credits, Clark said. In a Friday news release, Xcel Energy said a planned $800,000 in charitable donations would be made by the Blazing Star Community Fund, funded by Geronimo Energy.
The project was originally developed by Geronimo Energy, which identified the location for a wind farm, and worked with landowners and stakeholders to move the project forward.
"Blazing Star marks Geronimo's fifth wind project it has partnered with Xcel Energy on, and we are excited to see this project begin construction and move forward, towards contributing to the local and statewide communities," said Geronimo Energy President David Reamer.
Clark said there were a couple of reasons western Lincoln County was a good site for a wind farm. The area is close to the Buffalo Ridge, with its strong and consistent wind. And now that the CapX 2020 transmission line project has been built, it will be easier to get the power generated by the wind turbines onto the grid.
Wind energy projects like Blazing Star are increasing the renewable energy sources in Xcel's portfolio, Clark said. By investing in steel in wind farms, Xcel is cutting back on the cost of hauling in coal or burning gas, Clark said. By 2022, Xcel's energy mix will be 76 percent carbon free. Wind energy will account for 35 percent of the energy mix.
The goal, Clark said, will be for Xcel Energy to have 85 percent renewable energy in the upper Midwest by 2030. That will mean adding 1,850 megawatts of wind energy in Minnesota, the Dakotas and Iowa.
Clark said Xcel is still going through the permit and siting process for the Blazing Star project. Working with local landowners and agencies like the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will help minimize negative impacts on area residents and wildlife, he said.
"The best thing we can do is site (the project) as best we can," Clark said. There is also some technology available that can help cut back on the impact of factors like the lights on the turbines.