Improving Wind Energy and Supporting Communities in Southwest Minnesota
Mortenson and ALLETE Clean Energy are proud to have successfully repowered the Northern Wind Repower Project, located in Minnesota’s Buffalo Ridge region.
In addition to improving the site’s efficiency, extending its working life and reducing carbon emissions, the repowering project supports the local economy and advances a clean energy future. When we engaged with ALLETE Clean Energy, we realized the opportunity to take advantage of it to make an impact not only on the project, but with our customers, partners and in the local community.
Mortenson began replacing the existing turbines with new, more efficient equipment in May 2022, ultimately combining the Chanarambie and Viking wind projects, both of which were projects Mortenson constructed two decades ago, into the 120MW Northern Wind Repower Project.
Read more about the project here
“As we continue to build for the greater good in all we do, we are proud to build renewable energy and provide new, clean resources to the communities in which we work,” said Jesse Canzler, Vice President and General Manager. “Even more so, we are grateful for the opportunity to make a much bigger impact than what you see on the project site.”
American Clean Power Week Landowner Event
Mortenson and ALLETE Clean Energy hosted a landowner event as part of American Clean Power Week in August. The American Clean Power Association's annual nationwide event celebrates clean energy and the good-paying jobs the industry creates for Americans across the nation. Attendees enjoyed the signing of a decommissioned turbine blade.
Read more about the landowner event and American
Clean Power Week
Pipestone National Monument Cultural Event
Northern Wind is on southwestern Minnesota's Buffalo Ridge, the second-highest point in Minnesota and one of the nation's best wind resources – an area also rich in historical significance.
Approximately 20 miles from the site is the town of Pipestone, where Native American tribes can trace ceremonial pipes from the area quarries. Our team was honored to support an event where they learned about the culture of the local native tribes and paid tribute to the land we were building on.
School Supplies Drive
As the project’s construction schedule aligned with ‘back-to-school' season, the project team raised money for the Pipestone School District and the Slayton School District Backpack Program, which ensures all children have meals when they are not in school. Mortenson matched the funds raised and applied them to help pay off overdue lunch accounts for families struggling with the costs of the school lunch program.