The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is taking public comment until Sept. 13, with reply comments due by Oct. 11, on an application for the 105-MW Stoneray wind project.
The commission said in an Aug. 1 public notice that it wants comments on the merits of the proposed project, particularly whether there are any contested issues of fact with respect to the representations made in the application for a certificate of need (CN).
The commission accepted the CN application as complete as of June 21. The Stoneray CN review process is expected to take 9 to 12 months.
The proposed Stoneray Power Partners LLC project site encompasses 29,500 acres and is located in Pipestone and Murray counties in the townships of Rock, Burke, Chanarambie and Cameron. Stoneray proposes to install up to 62 wind turbines for a nameplate capacity of 105 MW.
Stoneray Power Partners LLC, a subsidiary of EDF Renewable Energy, filed a June 10 application at the commission for a site permit for a Large Wind Energy Conversion System (LWECS) for the 105-MW Stoneray Wind Farm. Stoneray Power Partners told the commission it has not made a final selection of the wind turbine for the project, meaning the final rated capacity may range from 100 to about 105 MW. The four turbine models under consideration range from 1.7 MW to 3.2 MW and include the General Electric 1.7-100, Vestas V110-2.0, Siemens SWT-2.3-108, and Siemens SWT-3.2-113.
