News Releases

Xcel Energy’s Mower County wind farm on track to be on line by year-end

MINNEAPOLIS - With the Site Permit and Certificate of Need approved, construction is set to begin in spring on the 100-megawatt Grand Meadow Wind Farm in southern Minnesota’s Mower County, the first wind farm Xcel Energy will own in Minnesota.

“The Grand Meadow Wind Farm will increase the already substantial emission-free generation available to our customers and moves us one step closer to compliance with Minnesota’s aggressive Renewable Energy Standard,” said Dave Sparby, acting president and CEO of Northern States Power Co.-Minnesota, an Xcel Energy company.

Xcel Energy has contracted with enXco Development Corp., an EDF-EN company, to build the wind farm. The project will consist of 67, 1.5-megawatt wind turbines to be located approximately 15 miles east of Austin, Minn. 

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in December determined the project was needed and last week granted a site permit for the wind farm. Those approvals cleared the way for construction to begin in spring. The project remains on schedule to begin producing power by the end of the year.

“Owning this asset will be important in ensuring our ability to comply with the state’s Renewable Energy Standard passed last year,” said Mark Stoering, Xcel Energy vice president of portfolio strategy and business development.  “The Grand Meadow project is a step in that direction, and we’re looking forward to making this project a reality.”
 
In 2007, for the second year in a row, the American Wind Energy Association ranked Xcel Energy as the No. 1 wind power provider in the nation. Meeting the Minnesota standard, combined with renewable requirements in other jurisdictions the company serves, will require Xcel Energy to add 2,600 megawatts of new wind resources to its system by 2020, over and above the 1,300 megawatts of wind resource planned to be on line by the end of 2008.

Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) is a major U.S. electricity and natural gas company with regulated operations in eight Western and Midwestern states. Xcel Energy provides a comprehensive portfolio of energy-related products and services to 3.3 million electricity customers and 1.8 million natural gas customers through its regulated operating companies. Company headquarters are located in Minneapolis. More information is available at www.xcelenergy.com.

enXco, Inc. (www.enxco.com) an EDF-EN company (www.edf-en.com) develops, operates and manages wind-energy projects throughout the United States. Since 1987, enXco has grown to be a significant owner and developer of wind-energy installations in the United States, and is the largest third-party Operation & Maintenance provider for wind parks, currently servicing more than 3,600 turbines (1,500 megawatts).