(Source: www.renewableenergydev.com)

A new wind farm is to be built by NextEra Energy Resources near Lake Ashtabula in North Dakota. It is expected that the facility will have a maximum power capacity of 169.5 MW of electricity.

NextEra Energy Resources will serve as construction manager and initial operator of the wind farm.

As part of the overall facility a smaller 49.5 MW wind farm has been proposed by Otter Tail Power Company, a division of Otter Tail Corporation, with plans to begin construction in late May and an operational date slated to be towards the end of 2009. The 49.5 MW project has been dubbed the North Farm and it will comprise 33 wind turbines. The other half of the wind farm will be a 72 turbine farm known as the South Farm located in southwestern Steele County, stretching a short distance into Griggs County. Each windmill will be powered by General Electric 1.5-kilowatt turbines.

Otter Tail Power Company will also construct a 13-mile 230-kilovolt generation outlet needed to transmit the electricity to the Pillsbury Substation.

The expected total outlay for the project by Otter Tail Power Company is going to $110 million and that will include the cost of the turbines, equipment, the site, and required transmission facilities. The company will apply for a 30 percent treasury grant available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.