Wind turbine. KELO.com News file photo.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Xcel Energy’s Dakota Range I and II wind generating projects are now online.
Xcel says the wind turbines in northeast South Dakota power over 150,000 homes.
Another benefit, they point out, is that the electricity is generated carbon-free.
Below is the news release from Xcel.
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Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Jan. 12, 2022) – Xcel Energy, one of the leading wind energy providers in the nation, today announced that its Dakota Range I and II Wind Farm is fully operational and is now delivering clean, renewable energy to Xcel Energy’s Upper Midwest customers.
Since 2017, the company has added about 2,000 megawatts of new or rebuilt wind energy to the Xcel Energy Upper Midwest wind portfolio, enough to power more than 945,000 average homes. Overall, the company estimates that more than 60% of the energy provided to Upper Midwest customers is currently carbon free, with more than 20% of that coming from wind energy. At the end of 2020, Xcel Energy became one of the first energy providers in the United States to reach 10,000 megawatts of wind energy capacity online for customers in the states it serves.
“We continue to lead the clean energy transition and pave the way for wind energy in the country by adding more clean, renewable energy to our system, saving customers money and driving local economies”, said Chris Clark, president, Xcel Energy-Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota. “Dakota Range I and II, along with many other projects that are now in service, create jobs and increase the local tax base, benefitting landowners, local suppliers and communities during construction and operation.”
Located on a 44,000-acre site in Codington, Grant, and Deuel counties, 20 miles north of Watertown, South Dakota, Dakota Range I and II is located in wind-abundant north eastern South Dakota, an area ideal for wind development. With 72 wind turbines, the wind farm can generate 300 megawatts of electricity, delivering enough clean, renewable energy to power approximately 157,000 homes.
Dakota Range I and II is also an economic driver for the regional economy. Over the life of the project, Dakota Range is expected to generate $37 million in property taxes and $62 million in landowner payments. The project created eight full-time jobs and employed more than 200 people during peak construction.
Project History
Apex Clean Energy developed the project and worked with landowners, businesses, contractors, legislators, and other members of the community. Xcel Energy closed on the acquisition of Dakota Range I and II in Dec. 2018 and began building it in 2020 with Mortensen Construction handling wind farm construction.
