Minnesota regulators have approved Otter Tail Power’s plan to double wind power resources and close a coal-fired plant.
The utility’s 2016 Integrated Resource Plan included a proposal to add 200MW of wind capacity, however, the Public Utilities Commission bumped it up to 400MW.
The 15-year plan also includes a new 30MW solar plant by 2020.
The additional capacity will boost Otter Tail’s renewable energy portfolio to about 30% of retail sales.
The utility will close the 140MW Hoot Lake coal plant in Fergus Falls by 2021.
Otter Tail, the smallest of the state’s investor-owned utilities, serves customers in Minnesota, North Dakota and a small portion of South Dakota.
Image: Otter Tail Power
