South Dakota’s “Largest Wind Farm” Coming to Codington County

Source: By Anndrea Anderson, KDLT • Posted: Monday, March 20, 2017

CODINGTON COUNTY, S.D.- Xcel Energy has launched its largest-ever Upper Midwest wind investment, with a plan to grow its Upper Midwest wind energy fleet by 60 percent.

Xcel Energy announced plans Friday to add 1,550 megawatts of new wind generation in the Upper Midwest. The proposal is Xcel Energy’s largest to date with a total of seven wind farms to be built in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa.

On Xcel Energy’s South Dakota Facebook page, the project is billed as the state’s largest wind farm, topping out at 600 megawatts. The Crown Ridge Wind Project in Codington County is one of seven wind farms to be built in the Upper Midwest as part of the wind power investment.

The proposed project is slated to bring $75 million in property tax value to the community.

“This investment in renewable energy keeps bills low for customers while giving them the clean energy they want and helping us achieve 63 percent carbon-free energy by 2030,” said Chris Clark, president, Xcel Energy-Minnesota. “Wind energy is at historically low prices right now so we’re able to reduce emissions while securing long-term cost savings for our customers.”