DULUTH, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ALLETE Clean Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE: ALE), has acquired the Red Barn wind project and signed an asset sales agreement with WEC Energy Group utility Wisconsin Public Service Corp. (WPS) and Madison Gas and Electric Co. (MGE).
WPS and MGE have applied to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to purchase the completed wind site from ALLETE Clean Energy to meet their future energy planning needs. ALLETE Clean Energy plans to complete construction and sale of the Red Barn wind project in late 2022.
ALLETE Clean Energy acquired the Red Barn wind project from PRC Wind, a Minnesota-based renewable energy developer founded in 1997 (www.prcwind.com). The 91.6-megawatt Red Barn wind project will consist of 28 turbines over about 12,220 acres in Grant County in southwestern Wisconsin. ALLETE Clean Energy plans qualify the site for renewable energy production tax credits, optimizing the company’s inventory of safe harbor wind turbines and bringing value to the project.
“The nation’s clean-energy transformation continues to accelerate. ALLETE Clean Energy is well-positioned to help customers achieve their sustainability goals and is evolving its strategy into new geographies and is exploring new technologies, products and services,” said ALLETE Clean Energy President Allan S. Rudeck Jr. “We’re proud to put our development and build-own-transfer experience to work for our customers in the neighboring state of Wisconsin. Large renewable energy conversion facilities such as Red Barn will bring significant amounts of carbon-free energy to market while providing economic benefits to local communities, cost-competitive energy to customers and growth for ALLETE investors.”
The asset sale of the Red Barn wind project is part of WEC Energy Group and MGE’s generation fleet transition. The project will advance the two companies’ net-zero carbon goals and is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
“We look forward to the opportunity to partner with ALLETE Clean Energy on the Red Barn Wind Farm. The Red Barn Wind Farm is another opportunity for MGE to invest further in cost-effective, clean energy as we move toward carbon reductions of at least 65% by 2030 and our goal of net-zero carbon by 2050,” said Jeff Keebler, MGE Chairman, President and CEO.
ALLETE Clean Energy’s purchase of the Red Barn wind project included the nearby Whitetail project that includes the potential for a combined 67.5 megawatts of additional renewable development. The company intends to continue development of the Whitetail project and position it to achieve commercial operation in the future.
ALLETE Clean Energy recently announced the sale of a repowered wind project in southern Minnesota to Xcel Energy and is currently constructing a 303-megawatt wind project in Oklahoma.
“With two new projects already announced in early 2021 and a robust project pipeline, ALLETE Clean Energy continues to play a key role in advancing ALLETE’s sustainability in action strategy,” said ALLETE President and CEO Bethany M. Owen. “This project is another demonstration of ALLETE’s investment in clean energy projects that will have an indelible, positive impact on customers and communities while meeting renewable and climate goals.”
ALLETE Clean Energy acquires, develops and operates clean and renewable energy projects and is well-positioned to drive additional clean-energy sector growth. ALLETE Clean Energy owns, operates, has in its development pipeline, has under construction and has delivered build-transfer projects totaling about 1,700 megawatts of nameplate renewable capacity across eight states. It retains a valuable inventory of turbines that qualify for the safe harbor provision of federal renewable energy production tax credits, and is exploring additional opportunities to put more of them to use to serve customers.
ALLETE Inc. is an energy company headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota. In addition to its electric utilities, Minnesota Power and Superior Water, Light and Power of Wisconsin, ALLETE owns ALLETE Clean Energy, based in Duluth; BNI Energy in Bismarck, North Dakota; and has an eight percent equity interest in the American Transmission Co. More information about ALLETE is available at www.allete.com. ALE-CORP
The statements contained in this release and statements that ALLETE may make orally in connection with this release that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and investors are directed to the risks discussed in documents filed by ALLETE with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
