Vestas to Supply Turbines for Minnesota Wind Project

Wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has clinched an order from Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. to supply 166 megawatts worth of wind turbines for a wind project in Minnesota, United States. The 166 MW will be formed from 83 Vestas V100-2.o MW turbines (see picture below).

Vestas V 100 2MW turbine 300x2321 Vestas to Supply Turbines for Minnesota Wind Project

The 166 MW-worth of turbines will be used for the 200 MW Pleasant Valley Wind Project in the U.S. state of Minnesota.

Rob Morgan 300x2251 Vestas to Supply Turbines for Minnesota Wind Project

Rob Morgan, chief development officer for R.E.S. Americas (pictured above) said:

“Pleasant Valley will deploy efficient, cutting edge technology to generate carbon-free electricity while providing meaningful cost savings to Xcel Energy’s customers in south-eastern Minnesota. We are committed to delivering competitively priced renewable energy and the technological advances made by leading companies like Vestas are essential to the wind industry’s ability to continue driving down costs while increasing clean energy production.”

The initial 34 MW-worth of turbines were announced in connection with a master supply agreement which was signed back in 2013. This order is the final call-off on the September 2013 M.S.A. (Master Supply Agreement) for multiple U.S. projects, the potential of which totaled 610 MW.

With the current order from Vestas, the wind turbine manufacturer has now secured 350 MW directly with R.E.S. Americas, with the remaining 260 MW from other parties that purchased the R.E.S. Americas prior to placing a firm and unconditional order with Vestas.

Not surprisingly Vestas are well pleased with the deal. Chris Brown, the President of vestas Sales & Services Division in the United States said:

vestas president chris brown 304 300x1991 Vestas to Supply Turbines for Minnesota Wind Project

“Vestas is extremely pleased that R.E.S. Americas has now finalized the M.S.A., either through orders placed directly with Vestas or via projects transferred to other customers. Vestas’ track record and technology mean we can offer our customers a strong business case for their wind power plants and this order further confirms R.E.S. Americas’ confidence in Vestas and the investment certainly we can offer.”

Back in May of this year, Vestas has also received an order for 148 MW-worth of their turbines – a project which is also part of the M.S.A.

There are other wind farms in Minnesota which is blessed by abundant wind most of the year:

Wapsi wind farm 300x1301 Vestas to Supply Turbines for Minnesota Wind Project

Pleasant Valley will utilize the V100-2.0 MW turbine, which was launched to the market in 2013 and features an improved drive train and generates approximately 13 percent more annual energy production (AEP) than the V90-1.8 MW at medium wind speeds. Pleasant Valley will have an annual energy production of approximately 804,000 MWh per year, which will avoid up to 19,000 tons of CO2 emissions on an annual basis. Furthermore, the project will provide enough clean energy for the electricity consumption of approximately 176,000 people in the U.S.  Deliveries and commissioning of the Pleasant Valley project are expected to take place in the fourth quarter of 2015. Vestas factories in Colorado are expected to be involved in the manufacturing of the nacelles, blades and towers for the project.

Following the commissioning of the project, ownership of Pleasant Valley will be transferred from RES Americas to Xcel Energy.