Nonprofit power generation and transmission cooperative Basin Electric has decommissioned a pair of its first wind turbines, in Minot, N.D.
These turbines were a part of the utility-scale Minot Wind development, which was built in 2002 by Basin Electric and member Central Power Electric Cooperative.
“These two turbines were built 20 years ago, and it was the beginning of Basin Electric’s commitment to wind energy in the state,” says Basin Electric CEO and General Manager Todd Telesz. “The project that followed near Minot became the largest wind project owned solely by a cooperative in the United States at that time, only to be surpassed by another Basin Electric wind project in South Dakota.”
Located beside Highway 83 about 14 miles south of Minot, the 3 MW turbines stood 200 feet tall and weighed 154 tons. The machines had reached the end of their useful life, and parts and service are no longer available.
“While it is possible to repower wind turbines in many instances, these two cannot be repowered because their foundations are not large enough to support the larger equipment that would be necessary,” explains Joe Fiedler, Basin Electric’s manager of distributed generation. “Because it isn’t possible in this case, we are committed to reclaiming the site.”
