Apex Clean Energy has announced the execution of a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Xcel Energy for Dakota Range Wind III and the sale of the South Dakota project to an affiliate of ENGIE North America.
The 151.2 MW project represents the third installment of a four-phase project in northeastern South Dakota. Xcel Energy owns the Dakota Range Wind I and II projects.
Dakota Range Wind III, located in Grant and Roberts counties, is expected to begin commercial operations in late 2020. Apex facilitated the PPA with Xcel for the project’s full capacity.
“Dakota Range III continues ENGIE’s significant expansion in the utility-scale renewable market via both greenfield development and acquisition,” comments Matt Riley, senior vice president and head of U.S. wind development at ENGIE North America. “We look forward to completing development of the project with Apex by the summer of 2019 and to serving Xcel Energy, one of the most ambitious investors in renewable energy of any utility in the country.”
Chris Clark, president of Xcel Energy-South Dakota, adds, “We have a clean energy strategy to nearly double the amount of wind energy on our system in the Upper Midwest by 2022, and this investment in Dakota Range III gets us closer to that goal.”
