Minnesota Power to Expand Bison Wind Farm

Minnesota Power has notified the North Dakota Public Service Commission of its intent to begin the second phase of the Bison Wind Farm project in central North Dakota. The additional capacity will increase total power generation to 185 MW. The Bison 2 wind project  will use 35 3-megawatt turbines manufactured by Siemens AG. Further expansion of the Great Plains wind farm is planned to meet Minnesota’s mandate for 25 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by 2025.

“The timing is fortunate for expanding our renewable energy production,” said Alan Hodnik, president and CEO of Minnesota Power’s parent company, ALLETE. “Development of Bison 2 will leverage substantial investments we’ve already made in North Dakota and take advantage of the federal production tax credit and a very competitive wind turbine market.”

“Bison 2 will be very economical for our customers,” Hodnik added. “This project is an example of our larger strategy of meeting the demands of a changing energy landscape, reducing our overall reliance on fossil fuels, and making effective use of existing transmission capacity.”

Electricity generated by the Bison Wind Farm travels to Minnesota via transmission lines used for coal-generated power from the Milton Young station near Center, North Dakota.

Read more HERE.

 

The Land Report Summer 2010

Enjoy the digital edition of the Summer issue of the Magazine of the American Landowner!

Table of Contents

Editor’s Note

MarketWatch

FrontGate

Vistas

Feature – FedEx Properties

Feature – Dallenbach Ranch

Feature – Escape Ranch

Land Buyer’s Guide

MarketPlace

Classifieds

Land Report 100 – William Noble Lane II (1917-1978)

Lessons of the Barnett Shale

Although I don’t agree with the conclusion of this excellent article in Sunday’s Dallas Morning News – that the biggest mineral play in the U.S. has gone bust – there is a lot of good hands-on reporting by Elizabeth Souder and Marice Richtert to consider. Read it closely. The underlying theme of the piece – how thousands of landowners profited or spurned quick profits on their properties – is one that will be shared by millions of Americans for decades to come. Here’s why. Read more

Shuttered Texas Silver Mine to Reopen?

First it was ethanol and the price per acre in the Corn Belt. Then oil and gas began propping up land values in mineral-rich areas such as the huge shales found coast to coast. Now other commodities are driving other forgotten or overlooked real estate markets, including an out-of-the-way section in Far West Texas where the state’s richest silver mine is slated to reopen after a seven decades of inactivity, according to this press release. Read more

How to Invest in Land (Without Living on It)

Whether you own a quarter-acre urban lot or a 40,000-acre ranch, your love of the land comes from the moment you pick up a handful of ground and watch the dirt fall through your fingers, knowing that it’s yours—all yours. But while there’s that intangible, visceral satisfaction of ownership, let’s not ignore the other benefit—profit. From energy stocks to timber REITs and ski resorts to cattle ranches, a diverse group of equities is tied to the enormous natural resources of land. Read more