Goodhue, Minnesota – October 28, 2008 – National Wind LLC announces today the formation of Goodhue Wind LLC, a community wind development company in Goodhue County, Minnesota. National Wind, the project’s manager, helped capitalize Goodhue Wind alongside local Goodhue County investors. Goodhue Wind intends to develop a 78 megawatt (MW) wind farm, which will supply clean, renewable energy to Midwestern utilities and ultimately to Midwestern homes and businesses.
Minnesota’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), enacted by the state legislature in February 2007, requires utility companies in the state to obtain 25% of their retail electricity sales from renewable sources by 2025. Further mandates are broken down by year to encourage utility companies to start building their portfolios of renewable energy sources now.
Goodhue Wind is in the definitive planning phase of negotiating an interconnection agreement that will handle up to 78 MW of new input to the grid. Goodhue Wind expects the project will be operational in 2010.
Though the project is one of the smallest community-based projects managed by National Wind, its size efficiently uses available transmission capabilities. Goodhue Wind expects a shorter development period than most utility-scale wind developments, pending approval of the interconnection agreement. With a relatively early anticipated commercial operation date, Goodhue Wind hopes to attract interest from utilities seeking to meet the first targets of the state’s RPS law.
“Utilities have a tendency to view community-based wind projects more favorably than traditional wind developments,” says Jack Levi, co-chairman of National Wind. “By focusing on local needs and local involvement, community projects form solid roots in the community and create strong local support. Community members really appreciate that, and utilities seem to value it as well.”
“And it’s not just the utilities,” says Tiff Thompson, project developer for Goodhue Wind, “National Wind’s experience dealing with institutional investors has also shown us that they value projects where the community is on board with the wind development.”
Goodhue Wind LLC is one of five community wind energy companies under National Wind management in its home state of Minnesota. Beyond the five Minnesota projects, National Wind is currently managing six other community wind companies in Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Colorado. Together, the wind projects of these companies, if constructed, are expected to be able to supply more than 1,000,000 average American homes with power.
More information on the Goodhue Wind LLC development is available at www.goodhuewind.com. Interested landowners are also invited to contact field specialist Doug Nowicki at 651-309-0399, field specialist Wayne Gadient at 651-380-7025, or project developer Tiff Thompson at 612-746-6613.
