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Wind Power News: Minnesota
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational mission to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law. The original articles, links to which are provided, may have additional links and photos and other media that were not included here.
Wind project in Minesota on hold as costs rise
A clean energy developer is temporarily halting its proposed wind farm in southwest Minnesota, saying the Trump administration’s tariffs are partly to blame. The decision has alarmed some clean energy advocates, who say President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war is making the already difficult process of connecting renewable energy projects to the electrical grid even harder. National Grid Renewables’ Plum Creek Wind project had already cleared some of the most common hurdles for a clean energy project. State regulators approved . . . Complete story »
States sue Trump administration over federal roadblocks on wind energy, citing economic harm and climate goals
A coalition of state attorneys general filed a lawsuit Monday against President Donald Trump’s attempt to stop the development of wind energy. Attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., are challenging an executive order Trump signed during his first day in office, pausing approvals, permits and loans for all wind energy projects both onshore and offshore. They say Trump doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally shut down the permitting process, and he’s jeopardizing development of a power source critical . . . Complete story »
Willmar Municipal Utilities Commission to decommission long-crippled wind turbines
The Willmar Municipal Utilities Commission is ready to make the decision to decommission its two wind turbines following a wind turbine assessment report Monday. The commission unanimously approved a motion to take the report under advisement, review the information and take final action at the Oct. 14 meeting. Willmar Municipal Utilities Facilities and Maintenance Supervisor Kevin Marti opened the presentation by stating, “The DeWind wind turbines were put into service in 2009, with a projected life expectancy of 20 years. . . . Complete story »
After four years, workers start clearing wind turbine junk from Minnesota community
An excavator this week took aim at a pile of wind turbine blades in a vacant lot, knocking one enormous segment to the earth, where it landed with a boom. Workers wrapped ropes around the thing, lifted it into the air and lowered it slowly onto the bed of a semi trailer truck. Then a trucker hauled it away, kicking up dust as the vehicle rumbled down a gravel road. It was a sight this small community south of Rochester . . . Complete story »
PUC orders NextEra to remove pile of wind turbine blades
For the last four years, Grand Meadow watched a pile of wind turbine blades collect dust, but this will no longer be the case. The mountain of metal that has been a headache for Grand Meadow is finally being removed. The blades, originally, were part of a wind farm south of Grand Meadow before they were replaced in 2020. The blades were then placed in a lot in the city’s industrial park. However, what was supposed to take a few . . . Complete story »
Grand Meadow’s Grand Mess: MN town fights to remove abandoned wind turbine blades
After four years, mounting safety concerns, and a Public Utilities Commission hearing, 100+ wind turbine blades stuck Grand Meadow could finally be on the move. Wind turbines are a common sight across southern Minnesota, but a massive pile of more than 100+ discarded wind turbine blades isn’t something you see every day. Unless you live in Grand Meadow. “The whole town is upset about it,” said Patti Harvey who lives near the lot where the blades have been sitting since . . . Complete story »
Future of discarded wind turbine blades in Minnesota town gets cloudier after company disappears
The strange saga of wind turbine blades dumped in the small Minnesota town of Grand Meadow has taken another turn after the company that promised to remove them abruptly went out of business. Meanwhile, the co-owner of the vacant lot where the turbine blades are piled tried to cut one up with a stump grinder before the city ordered him to stop. On Thursday, the state Public Utilities Commission will decide if it can or should step in. They may . . . Complete story »
‘Seriously, this sucks’: How a small Minnesota town was left with a giant pile of wind turbine blades
Darcy Richardson had big plans for a garden patio enveloped by flowers in her backyard in this little community south of Rochester. She gave up once the blades arrived. Trucks dropped off 111 fiberglass turbine blades on the empty lot next door in 2020, haphazardly stacked to the edge of Richardson’s property. Almost four years later, the mountain of old wind parts – which is visible on Google Earth – is still there. Some blades are cracked and stained. Locals say they . . . Complete story »
Minnesota eyes permitting reform for clean energy amid gridlock in Congress
The Minnesota Energy Infrastructure Permitting Act, which was introduced last week, would reduce procedural requirements, consolidate environmental review authority for energy projects to a single state agency, limit certain contested case hearings and exempt all wind and solar projects and some transmission lines from certificate of need permits. Complete story »
Meeker County Board approves alternative energy moratorium
The proposed moratorium mentions an “emergency situation” that demands “a temporary emergency moratorium” to “protect public health, safety, and general welfare until public hearings can be conducted on a long-term ordinance.” Complete story »
