Project Overview
As North Dakota continues to expand renewable energy resources, additional transmission infrastructure is needed to carry additional energy to meet load demands. A new wind farm, Merricourt Wind Farm, is a proposed 150 megawatt (MW) facility located about 10 miles southwest of Kulm, North Dakota and currently has insufficient transmission capacity to carry the generated renewable energy.
To increase the transfer capacity on the current transmission system and to provide a generation outlet for the Merricourt Wind Farm, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. (MDU) has proposed the construction of the Merricourt Wind Farm to Ellendale (MWFE) Project, an approximately 30-mile-long, 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line. The new transmission line is proposed from Ellendale, North Dakota to the Merricourt Wind Farm. In addition to the transmission line, the MWFE Project requires (1) an upgrade to the existing, MDU-owned Ellendale Junction Substation located near Ellendale and (2) the construction of the new Merricourt Wind Farm Substation located near the Merricourt Wind Farm.
Construction of the MWFE Project is anticipated to begin in spring 2011 and in-service by fall 2011.
Project Timeline
