Mortenson Construction will soon break ground on the 44 megawatt Oak Glen Wind Farm, located on a 3,000-acre agricultural site located in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota. The project’s owner is the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency and its 11-member utilities. Avant Energy, a leading Minneapolis-based energy supply management company, is the developer and the overall project manager.
Mortenson’s scope of work will include the erection of 24, 1.8MW turbines and the construction of foundations, access roads, underground collection, and a 69kV substation. The project is expected to be operational by the end of 2011. “We’re delighted by the opportunity to partner with Minnesota Municipal Power and Avant Energy on our first project together that will help promote the continued growth of wind energy in our state,” says Tim Maag, a vice president and general manager of Mortenson Construction’s Renewable Energy Groups.
According to the American Wind Energy Association, Minnesota installed 2,192 megawatts of wind energy in 2010 and is ranked as the fourth largest wind market in the United States. Mortenson has installed 1,466 megawatts of renewable energy in Minnesota through the first quarter of 2011, which represents approximately 55percent of the total megawatts throughout the state. Oak Glen is Mortenson’s 19th wind project built in Minnesota.
Since entering the renewable energy market in 1995, Mortenson Construction has become a leading builder of wind power facilities in North America, having built more than 100 wind projects throughout the United States and Canada. In addition to wind power, Mortenson’s Renewable Energy Groups also constructs facilities that generate solar power and other renewable resources, and it is a leading provider of transmission and distribution infrastructure. Go online to www.mortenson.com/wind.
