Minnesota Power is in the process of constructing the 25MW Taconite Ridge I Energy Center. This is the first commercial wind energy facility to be sited in northeastern Minnesota is in St Louis County.

The facility will be comprised of 10 Clipper wind turbines, each with a wind capacity of 2.5MW. A bonus for Minnesota Power lies in the fact that the infrastructure is already in place to bring the power generated from the wind farm online without the need to build new transmission lines.

The Taconite Ridge wind facility is expected to cost around $50 million. However, federal tax credits associated with the generation of electricity from renewable resources means that Minnesota Power will be able to claim a credit of $19 per megawatt hour for electricity generated by the wind farm. The ridge is expected to generate around 76,000 megawatt hours each year. The power produced from the facility will serve up to 8,000 per year.

As of today, the first turbine has been installed with the remaining 9 expected to be operational by the end of June.