HOEVEN, FPL ENERGY ANNOUNCE PLANS FOR OLIVER II WIND ENERGY CENTER
New Facility Will Double Output of Oliver County Wind Farm
BISMARCK, N.D. –Gov. John Hoeven and officials of FPL Energy today announced plans to build the Oliver II Wind Energy Center, a 48 megawatt wind facility near Center, North Dakota. With the company’s adjacent 50.6 megawatt Oliver Wind I Energy Center, which went into service in December, the expanded wind tower complex will generate nearly 100 megawatts of electricity under a long-term power purchase agreements with Minnesota Power.
“FPL Energy is a world leader in wind energy, and we’re proud to partner with them on their latest North Dakota project,” Hoeven said. “Cooperation between the state, FPL Energy and power companies, like Minnesota Power, Basin Electric Power Cooperative, and Otter Tail Power, is producing jobs for North Dakotans and clean, efficient renewable power for thousands of customers in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.”
“This is the latest addition to FPL Energy’s wind program in North Dakota,” said Mike O’Sullivan, the company’s senior vice president for development. “It’s the result of strong partnerships between the public and private sector, in which Gov. Hoeven and his administration are blazing the trail. With this expansion, our total investment in North Dakota will be approximately $300 million.”
Oliver Wind II will consist of 32, 1.5 megawatt turbines set on 80-foot towers. The combined facilities will generate enough electricity to power nearly 30,000 homes. Construction will begin in the spring and is expected to be completed by January 1, 2008.
The Oliver Wind II Energy Center will be FPL’s fifth wind project in North Dakota. The company also has the 49.5 megawatt Wilton Energy Center north of Bismarck, and the 40.5 megawatt and 21 megawatt wind energy centers in Edgeley/Kulm, in southeast North Dakota.
In addition to Minnesota Power, FPL has power purchase agreements with Basin Electric Power Cooperative and Otter Tail Power to produce over 200 megawatts of electricity for consumers in the Dakotas.
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Increased electricity demand must be met and old plants get retired. 50% of electricity is produced from coal. 20% is from gas. 5% is from oil. The rest is from nuclear and renewables. Wind is not reliable so it must be backed. Every 10 MWs of new wind must be backed up by building another 9 MW of new natural gas generation. Gas plants work good with wind and are cheap to build. They’ll build LGP ports and bring the gas over in tankers from the mid-east. The gas fuel cycle emits about half the GHG emissions of old coal along with other nasties. Or instead of the wind-gas mix you can build clean coal, achieve energy security with about the same GHG emissions as the wind/gas mix for way less $s. If you are really concerned about the GHGs burning up the planet then use nuclear for base load generation topped up with clean coal. Don’t waste your money on wind and compromise America’s energy security by committing to the wind/gas mix.
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