Allete Clean Energy has acquired two wind projects with a combined 97.5 megawatt of capacity near Lake Benton in Minnesota from a unit of EDF Renewable Energy for US$47.5 million.
The Chanarambie and Viking wind farms being purchased consist of a total of 65 General Electric turbines producing electricity under existing power purchase agreements with Northern States Power. The plants are located in southwest Minnesota in the proximity of other wind projects owned by Allete Clean Energy.
“Acquiring these productive renewable projects is consistent with our growth strategy,” said Allete Clean Energy President Eric Norberg. “This acquisition makes good sense from an efficiency standpoint due to their proximity to the Lake Benton project we acquired a year ago.”
Allete Clean Energy was established in 2011 to acquire or develop clean energy projects. In 2014, it acquired a portfolio of wind farms from AES Corp. in three different states, including a 104-MW project in Lake Benton, approximately 20 miles from the Chanarambie-Viking facility.