Iberdrola Renewables completes Rugby Wind Power Project

(08/01/2010)

Iberdrola Renewables has announced it has completed construction of the $300 million Rugby Wind Power Project near Rugby, North Dakota.

Missouri River Energy Services (MRES) purchases 40 MW of output from the Rugby project, enough electricity to power almost MRES 11,000 homes. MRES, based in Sioux Falls, is an organization of 60 member communities in the States of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. MRES member communities own and operate local electric distribution systems. MRES is a provider of electric power and energy to its members. Iberdrola Renewables continues to market the rest of the output.

In celebration of the project’s completion, Iberdrola Renewables on behalf of the Rugby Wind Power Project, donated $8,000 to the Rugby Endowment Community Fund which supports charities such as the Heart of America Library, Geographical Center Historical Society, Growing Place Day Care, Rugby High School, Food Pantry, Village Arts, Rugby Amateur Hockey Association, Pierce County Fair, Good Samaritan Health Services Foundation and Tri-County Meals.

“This donation from Iberdrola Renewables helped the Rugby Endowment maximize a matching donation from the Bremer Foundation,” said Galen Mack, Rugby Community Fund Advisory member. “This will assist all of our local charities and is a welcome donation in these tough economic times.”

More than 250 construction workers at the peak of activity built the 71 turbines, 16.4 miles of road and operations building in Pierce County. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), part of the US Department of Energy, estimates 809 jobs were created or supported during construction and another 29 will be created or supported during operation of the Rugby project, based upon NREL’s Jobs and Economic Development Impact model which looks at the supply chain and other factors.

Iberdrola Renewables Inc., headquartered in Portland, Oregon, now operates more than 3,500 MW of wind power in the US. It is part of Iberdrola Renovables, the largest provider of wind power in the world, with more than 10,000 MW in operation in 23 countries.

Iberdrola Renewables employs more than 800 people in the U.S. and spent more than $2 billion on wind projects in 2008 alone.

Related categories:  Wind power