On January 1, Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) began taking energy from the 100-megawatt Stoneray Wind Project under a contract with EDF Renewable Energy (EDF.) The project consists of 39 wind turbines manufactured by Siemens Gamesa and is located in Pipestone and Murray counties in Southwestern Minnesota.
The wind farm began commercial operation in December of 2018. EDF has been selling the energy to others until January 1, when SMMPA began taking delivery under the 20-year term of the agreement.
The Stoneray project, combined with the 100.5 MW Wapsipinicon Wind project and eight megawatts of SMMPA-owned wind turbines, will increase SMMPA’s wind generation portfolio to over 200 megawatts. With the 5-megawatt Lemond Solar Center and other biomass/biogas generation, SMMPA is positioned to meet the requirements of Minnesota’s renewable energy standard for the foreseeable future.
“We are happy to take this next step in increasing our renewable energy portfolio and creating a brighter energy future for our member communities”, said Dave Geschwind, SMMPA’s Executive Director and CEO.