Basin Electric, a consumer-owned, regional cooperative based in Bismarck, N.D., has announced that its wind farm, located near Minot, N.D., has become operational.
The last 10 wind turbines of the 77-turbine project went into operation at 8:25 p.m. on Dec. 30, meeting the cooperative's goal of completing the project in 2009.
For the past five months, crews from contractors RMT and GE have been working to complete the project, according to Basin.
‘They worked in snow, rain, wind and in the dark, but they got it done – and safely,’ says Ron Rebenitsch, Basin Electric manager of alternative technologies. ‘The employees from RMT and GE have worked tirelessly on this project and demonstrated true commitment to completing this project in a timely manner.’
The Minot Wind II project interconnects with a substation owned by Central Power Electric Cooperative, a Basin Electric member cooperative. Basin expects about eight full-time operations and maintenance employees for all phases of the Minot project.
SOURCE: Basin Electric Power Cooperative
