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Lyon County hears update on Invenergy wind projects

MARSHALL — Planned wind energy projects in Lyon County are coming together, representatives of renewable energy company Invenergy said this week. In an update at a Lyon County commissioner meeting, company representatives said the Purple Skies wind project was likely to become a reality.

“So on a scale of one to 10, 10 being likely, how likely is this to happen?” Lyon County Planning and Zoning Administrator John Biren asked Invenergy representatives.

“This project in general? I would say 8,” said Tim Clment of Invenergy.

Clement and Tristan Schultz answered commissioner questions about planned wind farms that would affect Lyon County. Clement said Invenergy had two projects in development in the area.

“The first project we have kind of in the northwest corner of Lyon County is called Bitter Root Wind. It’s currently being developed as a 250-megawatt wind project located in parts of Lyon, Lincoln, as well as Yellow Medicine County,” Clement said.

Invenergy is also planning the Purple Skies Wind project in Lyon County, he said.

“That one is being developed in phases. I’ve got more detail on Phase 1 of that project, which is mostly in western Lyon and parts of Lincoln and Pipestone counties,” Clement said. Phase 2 of the Purple Skies project would also be located in Lyon County, he said.

“Phase 1 of Purple Skies Wind is currently still in development. We’re aiming to start construction in 2026,” Clement said. Phase 1 would be about 200 to 250 megawatts, he said. “Then we have development of Phase 2 further down the line.”

He said Invenergy was planning to file for a permit from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission early next year for Phase 1 of the Purple Skies wind project. Meanwhile, development of the Bitter Root Wind project would have a similar timeline, with the goal of construction starting in 2027 and the project being operational in 2028.

Clement said Invenergy would pay production taxes to the county and townships where the wind projects are located. Based on the capacity and estimated efficiency of the project, Phase 1 of the Purple Skies project would bring Lyon County about $187,000 annually in production taxes. The Bitter Root wind project would also bring in about $146,000 a year in production tax, he said.

County commissioners asked more about the specifics of the projects, including the amount of land signed up in Lyon County, and the size of the wind towers in the projects.

Clement said Invenergy had about 57,000 acres of land in Lyon County for the Purple Skies project, and 11,000 of those acres would be for Phase 1 of the project. The Bitter Root Wind project had about 8,000 acres in Lyon County.

“We don’t have layouts yet, so we can’t say for certain where the turbines are going to go,” Clement said.

Clement said Invenergy was also still looking at more land for both projects.

“It’s also possible that one or both projects could get the project substation or operations and maintenance building as well, which would bring in some property taxes as well, as we would normally purchase those acres,” Clement said.

Clement said it wasn’t yet certain how big the individual wind towers in the project would be.

“But what is being projected as being available at the time of construction is 4.5 megawatts,” he said.

Clement said Invenergy was aiming to interconnect the Purple Skies wind project to the Minnesota Energy Connection transmission lines being planned in the region by Xcel Energy.

“We also have an option further north on existing transmission lines,” he said.

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