— FPL Group Inc., the biggest U.S. operator of wind-power facilities, plans a $2 billion wind project in North Dakota as it seeks to boost development of renewable energy.
The project would provide up to 1,000 megawatts to the power grid, FPL Energy, a unit of Juno Beach, Florida-based FPL Group, said in a letter of intent yesterday to the North Dakota Public Service Commission. The wind farm would be built on as much as 250 square miles and use up to 667 turbine generators.
The company said it plans to file an application around July 1, 2009, with the hope of having a permit issued by May 1, 2010. FPL Energy said the project would be completed in phases starting as soon as June 1, 2010, and ending about Dec. 31, 2012. The project was reported by the Associated Press yesterday.
FPL Energy had about 5,410 megawatts of wind-power capacity in the U.S. at the end of May, Steve Stengel, a company spokesman, said today in a telephone interview. FPL Energy has said it hopes to add 7,000 to 9,000 megawatts of wind in the 2008-2012 period. The new North Dakota project would be in Oliver and Morton counties, Stengel said.
One megawatt of wind capacity can power as many as 300 average U.S. homes, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
FPL Group fell 17 cents to $63.65 in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
