Mortenson has been selected to build Xcel Energy's Rush Creek wind project in east central Colorado, the largest single-phase wind farm in North America.
Rush Creek will host 300 wind turbines capable of churning out 600 megawatts of electricity when the wind is blowing. To put that in perspective, Xcel's nuclear plant in Monticello has a 617-megawatt capacity. A megawatt is one million watts.
Golden Valley-based Mortenson has built portions of larger U.S. wind farms that are multi-phase projects, but Rush Creek will be its biggest single-phase wind endeavor. It's the largest wind contract ever for Mortenson, one of the nation's biggest renewable energy construction and engineering firms.
Minneapolis-based Xcel is the nation's leading utility for wind generation and the $1 billion Rush Creek project is its biggest effort yet. Construction is expected to begin in May, and Rush Creek is scheduled to start producing power in October 2018.
Mortenson is a national, family-owned construction company, and its projects include U.S. Bank Stadium and TCF Bank Stadium, both in Minneapolis.
