{"id":215380,"date":"2020-12-22T10:43:10","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T16:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=215380"},"modified":"2020-12-22T10:43:10","modified_gmt":"2020-12-22T16:43:10","slug":"otter-tail-power-announces-merricourt-energy-cnt-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=215380","title":{"rendered":"Otter Tail Power announces Merricourt Energy Cnt Open"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fergus Falls, Minnesota\u00a0 (OTPC)\u00a0 <\/span>After years of planning and 17 months of construction, Otter Tail Power Company\u2019s Merricourt Wind Energy Center is operational. Located in southeast North Dakota, blades are spinning on this 150-megawatt (MW) facility, harnessing some of our nation\u2019s best wind resources to generate power.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Otter Tail Power Company\u2019s customers have seen the benefits of wind resources since 2002. But this project will go down in company history. \u201cCompleting the Merricourt Wind Energy Center marks a major milestone,\u201d said Otter Tail Power Company President Tim Rogelstad. <\/span>\u201cAt approximately $260 million, Merricourt is the largest capital investment in Otter Tail Power Company\u2019s history, bringing us one step closer to our goal of serving customers with more than 35 percent renewable energy by 2023. Thank you to everyone involved with this project. From community members, civic leaders, and government agencies, to employees and contractors, your tireless efforts and dedication have made it possible.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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By 2023 approximately 35 percent of the company\u2019s energy generation will come from renewable resources, with nearly 90 percent of that renewable energy being wind powered.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Bringing benefits to North Dakota<\/span><\/strong>
\nThe\u00a0Merricourt Wind Energy Center\u2019s 75 Vestas wind turbines will produce enough energy to power 65,000 homes annually. EDF Renewables developed the project and local contractor Wanzek Construction built it. The project created 260 jobs during peak construction, generated more than 260,000 labor hours, and resulted in several million dollars in lodging and restaurant spending.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cIn the rolling hills of southeast North Dakota, Otter Tail Power Company\u2019s Merricourt Wind Energy Center is taking advantage of some of our nation\u2019s greatest wind resources,\u201d said North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. \u201cThis facility is a prime example of how we can forge innovative solutions to meet North Dakota\u2019s energy needs in a sustainable and cost-effective way using an all-of-the-above energy approach. Congratulations to the company and the community in celebrating this remarkable achievement.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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A perfect match<\/span><\/strong>
\nThe Merricourt Wind Energy Center is part of the company\u2019s plan to meet customers’ future energy needs, replace expiring power purchase agreements, and prepare for the 2021 retirement of its 1950s-era 140-MW Powder River Basin coal-fired Hoot Lake Plant in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.<\/span> \u201cMerricourt will be the lowest-cost resource in our energy generation fleet, making this the right project at the right time for continuing to provide our customers with low-cost, reliable, increasingly clean energy,\u201d said Rogelstad.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Its partner project, Astoria Station in Deuel County, South Dakota, will complement wind resources by providing a reliable backstop when the wind isn\u2019t blowing. Its 245-MW simple-cycle natural gas combustion turbine will be able to ramp up quickly, filling gaps when customer demand for energy is high or conditions for renewable energy generation aren\u2019t ideal. Astoria Station will get its natural gas for electric generation from Northern Border Pipeline, which includes natural gas from North Dakota\u2019s Williston Basin and synthetic natural gas from Dakota Gasification Company\u2019s Great Plains Synfuels Plant near Beulah, North Dakota. The company expects Astoria Station to come on line in first quarter 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This news release is available on our website at otpco.com\/Newsroom<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Otter Tail Power Company, a subsidiary of Otter Tail Corporation (Nasdaq Global Select Market: OTTR), is headquartered in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. With a balanced commitment to environmental, economic, and community stewardship, the company provides electricity and energy services to approximately 230,000 people in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. To learn more about Otter Tail Power Company visit <\/span>otpco.com<\/span><\/a>. To learn more about Otter Tail Corporation visit <\/span>ottertail.com<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fergus Falls, Minnesota\u00a0 (OTPC)\u00a0 After years of planning and 17 months of construction, Otter Tail Power Company\u2019s Merricourt Wind Energy Center is operational. Located in southeast North Dakota, blades are spinning on this 150-megawatt (MW) facility, harnessing some of our nation\u2019s best wind resources to generate power. Otter Tail Power […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":24169,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-215380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=215380"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":215381,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215380\/revisions\/215381"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=215380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=215380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=215380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}