Minnesota regulators have given EDF Renewable Energy a two-year extension to build the 105MW Stoneray wind farm.
The state Public Utilities Commission has approved EDF’s request for a mid-2018 deadline to obtain a power purchase agreement and start construction of the up to 62-turbine scheme.
Regulators also agreed to extend the certificate of need in-service date to December 2018.
The project initially was approved in 2014, however, a downturn in the wind industry, uncertainty about the US production tax credit extension and interconnection delays stalled the project, EDF told the commission.
Since then, the market has rebounded, EDF has advanced project development and it is working through the Mid-Continent Independent System Operator interconnection process, said the developer.
The site permit contemplates four turbine models: GE 1.7MW-100, Vestas V110 2MW, Siemens SWT-2.3MW-108 and Siemens SWT-3.2MW-113.
The project area encompasses about 29,000 acres in Pipestone and Murray counties.
Image: EDF
