Xcel Energy fired up another large wind power project over the past month, the Odell Wind Farm in southwestern Minnesota.
It includes 100 wind turbines in four counties, which together can generate 200 megawatts of electricity. That's enough juice to power 105,000 homes.
Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy is the nation's top utility for wind energy production. Wind drives about 14 percent of its power generation in the Upper Midwest, a number expected to rise to 22 percent by 2020.
Like most of Xcel's wind capacity, output from the Odell Wind Farm comes through a long-term power purchase agreement.
Algonquin Power & Utilities, a Canadian company, owns Odell, a project initially developed by Edina-based Geronimo Energy. It spans the counties of Cottonwood, Jackson, Martin and Watonwan.
