A persistent rain Thursday in west-central North Dakota moved the
Bison Wind Energy Center dedication from the site of the project to a
more urban environment, but that hardly seemed to dampen the spirits of
attendees to the ceremony and luncheon marking the completion of the
massive project.
With some of the state’s most prominent political
leaders looking on and close to 200 people packing the New Salem City
Auditorium, top executives from Minnesota Power/ALLETE touted their $500
million baby — a 50,000-acre network of over 100 wind turbines in
Oliver and Morton counties.
“We’ve been here and we intend to stay
here for the long haul,” said ALLETE CEO Al Hodnik. “North Dakota is
both energy rich, but, most importantly, policy-friendly. I can’t say
that about Minnesota, the state I grew up in, but North Dakota is good
for business and good for our
company.”
Hodnik said ALLETE worked
with “about 500” landowners to secure access to the parcels used for the
wind energy center, which will produce nearly 300 megawatts of power
for ALLETE customers in Minnesota, according to the corporation’s
numbers.
After launching the project in 2009, Thursday marked the
culmination of a three-part construction phase, which included the
creation of more than 40 miles of new roads throughout the site. At its
current scope, the Bison center will produce enough energy to power
100,000 homes annually.
Though her colleague in the U.S. Senate,
Republican Sen. John Hoeven, was not able to attend because of a
scheduling conflict, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., said the Bison project
was a big part of North Dakota’s comprehensive plan for energy
production.
“Because of that can-do attitude and where we come
from, we know this celebration is for all of you,” Heitkamp said. “All
of the community members and the farmers and the ranchers who have
watched this project and maybe suffered through a little extra traffic
and hassle and who have thought ‘what a great thing this is for our
community.”’
Made by Siemens, each turbine stands about as tall as
a 20-story building and features 161-foot long fiberglass blades that
can reach speeds of up to 190 miles per hour. Hodnik said ALLETE’s
Duluth, Minn.-based subsidiary Minnesota Power is also looking into
additional energy investments in the Peace Garden State, though some of
that could hinge on the fate of the renewable energy production tax
credits, which were recently extended.
“The jobs that come from
these projects are living-wage jobs, not just in lip service, but in
real terms,” Hodnik said. “The tax base generated in North Dakota is
growing not only from shale gas and oil, but from long-standing
industries like mining and wind. Like Sen. Hoeven has said, the whole
idea in North Dakota is to enable all the energy forms, not pick winners
and losers. Minnesota hasn’t figured that out yet and still likes to
pick winners and losers.”
In Minnesota, a government mandate is in
place that calls for 25 percent of the state’s power to come from
renewable energy sources by 2025. Public Service Commission Chairman
Brian Kalk — who was also a featured speaker at Thursday’s event — has
said about 18 percent of North Dakota’s power currently comes from
renewable sources.
“Energy is the lifeblood of a growing economy,”
said North Dakota Lt. Governor Drew Wrigley. “We’re blessed with an
endless God-given supply of wind and we don’t always view that as a
blessing here in North Dakota, but it has a purpose. You can have public
policy that does work for everyone — substantial private sector
investment with landowners, stakeholders and political subdivisions that
come together to be part of the solution in a regulatory and business
climate that is pro-growth.”
Power generated from the Bison center
will continue to make its way to Minnesota via a 465-mile current
transmission line, which Minnesota Power purchased in 2009.
Adding
one final shot directed at the Gopher State, North Dakota Chamber of
Commerce President Andy Peterson — who said he is an ALLETE shareholder —
also touted his state’s business-friendly climate, referencing a
controversial billboard that went up recently along Interstate 94 in
Moorhead, Minn.
“North Dakota is the kind of place where you can
say we’re open for business,” Peterson said. “If you’ve seen a sign
recently coming this direction (from Minnesota), we truly mean what we
say. We want business and we want you to expand here.”
Representatives
for Republicans Hoeven and U.S. Congressman Kevin Cramer attended the
event with both reading letters from the two politicians trumpeting what
both referred to as the positive effects of the Bison project.
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