Mortenson Announces 1.5GW Of Wind Farm Projects

The ever-growing cost of gas is fuelling a boom in renewable energy sources throughout North America, and the trend is proving an economic windfall for a Minneapolis construction company.

The ever-growing cost of gas is fuelling a boom in renewable energy sources throughout North America, and the trend is proving an economic windfall for a Minneapolis construction company.
   
Mortenson’s Renewable Energy Groups have announced plans to build 11 new wind generation projects in the USA adding 1,363 megawatts of clean electricity to the nation’s power grids, plus an additional two wind farms in Canada that will produce a combined 307.8 megawatts of renewable energy. 
  
The proposed facilities will make up almost a quarter of the entire installed wind energy under construction in the USA, according to figures from the American Wind Energy Association. 
   
The announcement comes as Mortenson begins building its 100th wind project in Iowa. The Rolling Hills Wind Farm is the one of the largest single-phase wind farms in America and, upon completion in December, will generate 443.9 megawatts of power for 130,000 homes.
   
"The scale of the Rolling Hills wind project is a solid indicator about the appetite for wind power in the US," said Tom Wacker, senior vice president with Mortenson Construction who leads the company’s Renewable Energy Groups.
   
Mortenson claims improved economic conditions and population growth have made it easier for developers to secure financing for renewable energy projects and Wacker says the outlook for the company is very positive
   
"We’re off to a good start for the first half of 2011, and we believe there are several trends working in our favour that should keep demand for our company’s wind power construction services growing steadily through 2012."
   
Although predominantly a developer of wind energy projects, with over 7000 wind turbines in operation across 27 states, Mortenson has its fingers in many renewable energy pies. The company constructs solar power plants, geothermal and hydroelectric facilities and provides transmission and distribution infrastructure.
   

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