Proposed North Dakota wind farm clears hurdle

A proposed wind farm south of Hebron in southwestern North Dakota has cleared a hurdle.

The Bismarck Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1gikA2Q ) that the Morton County and Stark County commissions have approved special use permits for Sunflower Wind Project LLC. The project still needs a county building permit and the approval of the state Public Service Commission.

Morton County planner Daniel Nairn says up to 55 wind turbines will be placed in Morton County and 25 in Stark County. The project will generate 110 megawatts of power for Infinity Wind Power of Santa Barbara, California, which will sell the power to Bismarck-based Basin Electric Power Cooperative.

Project manager Casey Willis says Infinity Wind Power hopes to start building early next year and have the wind farm operating in late 2015.