MURRAY COUNTY, Minnesota — When a 2003-vintage wind farm in southwestern Minnesota became obsolete, its owner Allete Clean Energy tore it down and built anew.
The new Northern Wind project came online last month with bigger turbines that produce 32% more electricity than the old facility. The new turbines scoop up so much more wind that Allete needed to erect only 37 of them.
There's only one snag: Most of the blades from those 65 old turbines were cut into chunks and are now interred in a Minnesota landfill.
