News Releases for April 2006
April 19, 2006
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Hoeven: FPL Breaks Ground For New 50 Megawatt Wind Farm In Oliver County
BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. John Hoeven and executives of Florida Power and Light (FPL), Minnesota Power, and Allete, Inc., along with the state's congressional delegation and city and county officials, today broke ground for a new 50.6 megawatt wind farm in Center. The new facility's 22 turbines will generate enough electricity to power more than 16,000 homes. The project will employ up to 150 workers during the construction phase.
In addition to the congressional delegation, joining the Governor for the event were John DiDonato, CEO of FPL; Mike Sullivan, President and CEO of Allete, Inc.; and Don Shippar, Chairman and CEO of Minnesota Power, which is a subsidiary of Allete. FPL will be the builder, owner and operator of the facility, and Minnesota Power, a subsidiary of Allete, Inc., will purchase the power under a long-term agreement. Mayor Richard Zarr of Center, and Oliver County Commissioner David Porsborg also participated.
"Projects like this one – as well as those in Velva, Wilton, Edgeley and Kulm – are just what we had in mind when we initiated tax credits and other measures to create a favorable business climate for wind energy in North Dakota," Hoeven said. "These state incentives, along with our aggressive efforts to work with wind energy developers, have resulted in five wind farms currently under development across North Dakota."
During the last two legislative sessions, Hoeven initiated a broad range of incentives to further expand the state's wind energy industry and help promote wind development projects such as the wind farms in Lamoure, McHenry, and now Oliver County.
- An income tax credit for wind projects covering the actual cost of acquisition and installation of wind energy devices for five tax years.
- A property tax reduction that reduces the assessed value of a wind turbine electric generation unit to 1.5 percent.
- A sales tax exemption for construction of a wind powered electrical generating facility.
- A North Dakota Transmission Authority to promote new and substantial investments in transmission lines in North Dakota and to facilitate the planning and investment process.
- A regional energy credit tracking and trading program which allows the trading of renewable energy credits to plants in other states.
- The streamlining of siting rules for wind farms.
- One of the most extensive state sponsored wind monitoring programs in the country.
- A North Dakota Office of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, to work with the programs and help companies develop wind farms in North Dakota.
Five years ago, there were a handful of wind facilities in North Dakota, generating less than one half a megawatt of power. Today, there are five new wind energy projects underway in the state, with a combined production capacity of more than 330 megawatts.
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