UNDATED (KELO.COM) Xcel Energy has proposed the largest-ever South Dakota wind power farm - a $900 million project in the northeastern part of the state.
The Crown Ridge Wind Project is big says Xcel Regional Vice President Laura McCarten.
"The size is 600 megawatts and the energy from this wind project is enough to power about 300,000 homes," McCarten tells KELO.COM. The project will generate more than power.
"We estimate about $75 million in property taxes will be paid over the life of this project," says McCarten. Crown Ridge, proposed for Deuel, Codington, and Grant Counties, will be developed in partnership with NextEra Energy Resources.
The huge Crown Ridge project is part of a total $2.5 billion in capital investments Xcel is making in wind energy in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa, pending regulatory approval.
"It's going to save our customers money as well as help us get to an increasingly clean energy mix," McCarten says.
Xcel is the nation's No. 1 utility wind energy provider.