ALLETE Clean Energy to Sell Repowered Wind Site to Xcel Energy
February 16 2021 - 6:30AM
Business Wire
Upgraded southwest Minnesota project will
increase amount of low-cost carbon-free electricity
ALLETE Clean Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of ALLETE Inc.
(NYSE: ALE), will repower and expand the Northern Wind site,
consisting of the Chanarambie and Viking wind projects in southwest
Minnesota, by replacing the existing turbines with new, more
efficient equipment. When repowered in 2022, the project, totaling
120 megawatts of capacity, will be sold to Xcel Energy.
The wind repowering project was spurred by the Minnesota Public
Utilities Commission’s request for projects that could help the
economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and recession by putting
people to work and increasing the amount of renewable energy
customers receive, while also reducing costs over the life of the
project. Installing new wind turbines at existing wind sites can
increase electricity production by more than 10%, saving customers
money over the next 25 years.
Adding new wind energy and repowering older wind sites will help
Xcel Energy deliver on its plan to reduce carbon emissions by 80%
by 2030, in pursuit of the company’s vision to deliver 100%
carbon-free electricity by 2050.
“We’re proud to provide this valuable clean-energy solution for
Xcel Energy and its customers,” said ALLETE Clean Energy President
Allan S. Rudeck Jr. “This project is the latest example of our
strategy in action to advance sustainable energy solutions while
investing in local communities. It is a four-part winner that will
deliver more clean energy to decarbonize the nation’s energy
supply, contribute to more affordable electric rates for customers,
and spur local employment and economic activity, all while
providing an opportunity to reallocate capital into exciting, new
and complementary clean energy growth opportunities.”
“Xcel Energy is leading the clean energy transition while also
developing projects that will help the economy recover from the
COVID-19 pandemic,” said Chris Clark, president, Xcel
Energy-Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota. “Repowering older
wind sites with new technology will save customers money, create
more renewable energy, reduce carbon emissions, and move us closer
to achieving our vision to deliver 100% carbon-free electricity to
our customers.”
ALLETE Clean Energy also recently completed a refurbishment
project to improve performance and reliability at the nearby Lake
Benton I wind site in southwest Minnesota, which sells energy to
Xcel Energy under a long-term power purchase agreement.
Many productive wind sites in the Upper Midwest were built in
the 1990s and early 2000s when the wind industry was still
developing. Technology advances in the decades since have enabled
wind turbines to capture more energy at the same wind speeds,
increasing the amount of production and decreasing costs.
ALLETE Clean Energy strategy delivers sustainability for
customers
“This Northern Wind repowering and expansion project is a prime
example of ALLETE’s sustainability in action strategy on many
levels,” said ALLETE President and CEO Bethany Owen. “At ALLETE, we
believe true sustainability goes above and beyond the need to
address climate change to include supporting the communities and
people where we do business. This project meets our goals for true
sustainability, while also supporting ALLETE’s future investments
in clean energy projects and enabling our customers to achieve
their sustainability objectives.”
The sale and redevelopment of the wind sites is pending
regulatory approval. Xcel Energy plans to file the request to
repower and purchase the project in mid-February.
ALLETE Clean Energy’s investment in wind turbines eligible for
the safe harbor provision of federal production tax credits and
strong local wind resource enable the competitive price of the
project’s renewable energy. The Northern Wind project was submitted
into Xcel Energy’s request for proposals earlier last year, and is
now being submitted to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in
a package of renewable energy projects to help the state economy
recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
ALLETE Clean Energy acquires, develops and operates clean and
renewable energy projects and is well-positioned to drive
additional clean-energy sector growth. ALLETE Clean Energy owns,
operates, has in its development pipeline, under construction and
has delivered build-transfer projects totaling more than 1,550
megawatts of nameplate wind capacity across seven states.
ALLETE, Inc. is an energy company headquartered in Duluth,
Minnesota. In addition to its electric utilities, Minnesota Power
and Superior Water, Light and Power of Wisconsin, ALLETE owns
ALLETE Clean Energy, based in Duluth; BNI Energy in Bismarck, North
Dakota; and has an 8 percent equity interest in the American
Transmission Co. More information about ALLETE is available at
www.allete.com. ALE-CORP
The statements contained in this release and statements that
ALLETE may make orally in connection with this release that are not
historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Actual results
may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties and investors are directed to the risks discussed in
documents filed by ALLETE with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
About Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) provides the energy that powers
millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and
Midwestern states. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an
industry leader in responsibly reducing carbon emissions and
producing and delivering clean energy solutions from a variety of
renewable sources at competitive prices. For more information,
visit xcelenergy.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210216005366/en/
Amy Rutledge Manager - Corporate Communications 218-723-7400
arutledge@allete.com
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