Construction is underway for the 150-MW MinnDakota Wind Power Project in Brookings County in South Dakota and Lincoln County in Minnesota.

South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds says, “South Dakota is pleased to host the largest installation to date of wind energy. The MinnDakota project taps yet another one of South Dakota's resources — wind — and represents further diversification of our rural economies. In particular, the project will yield significant benefits to the local economy in Brookings County with new job opportunities and an expanding tax base. South Dakota is committed to ensuring the investment environment for wind energy in the state remains strong and looks forward to further expansion of wind energy in the state.”

MinnDakota will span the wind resource-rich area on the border of South Dakota and Minnesota with approximately 50 MW located in South Dakota and 100 MW in Minnesota. The 50 MW will be the largest installation of wind power in South Dakota, a state with vast wind resources, but also with transmission issues that, until now, have made it difficult to get the power from the wind to cities and other electrical loads.

Power generated by the MinnDakota project will be delivered under a long-term contract to customers of Xcel Energy. The MinnDakota project interconnects at Xcel's newly approved Yankee Substation. Xcel Energy's recent and ongoing transmission upgrades in the upper Midwest have helped make MinnDakota and similar future wind projects possible.

MinnDakota will use 100 GE 1.5-MW turbines in Minnesota and South Dakota. Construction is scheduled for completion by the end of 2007. While the project spans approximately 15,000 acres (6070 hectares) owned by 70 landowners, the actual footprint of the turbines uses less than 2% of the total acreage.