As one of the windiest spots in the nation, southwest Minnesota is the ideal location to build facilities that provide wind-generated power. To harness this enormous potential, Northern States Power, today known as Xcel Energy, worked cooperatively with Zond Corporation, today known as Enron Wind, to establish two of the first wind power facilities in excess of 100 megawatts (MW), which remain two of the world’s largest single wind power projects.

These world-class renewable energy facilities, located along the Buffalo Ridge corridor and known as Lake Benton I and Lake Benton II, consist of 281 state-of-the-art wind turbines and comprise 210 megawatts of capacity. Together the projects generate approximately 682,000 megawatts hours per year - enough electricity to serve approximately 90,000 average Midwestern homes. Learn more . . .