EDF Renewables North America and Otter Tail Power Company Close Purchase Agreement for Sale of Merricourt Wind energy Project

EDF Renewables North America and Otter Tail Power Company, a subsidiary of Otter Tail Corporation (Nasdaq Global Select Market: OTTR), announced the closing of the Asset Purchase Agreement first announced in November 2016.  Pursuant to a turnkey Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) Agreement, also entered into in November 2016, EDF Renewables will proceed to construct the 150-megawatt (MW) Merricourt Wind Farm with completion anticipated in 2020.

Located near Merricourt, approximately 15 miles south of Edgeley, North Dakota, in McIntosh and Dickey Counties, the Project is expected to create 150+ construction jobs and 10 long-term, full-time positions as well as inject millions of dollars in economic benefits to the local area. Upon commercial operation in 2020, the Project will generate enough energy to power approximately 65,000 homes.1

“EDF Renewables is pleased to partner with Otter Tail Power Company to deliver competitively-priced, clean energy to its customers through the Merricourt Wind Project,” said Sohinaz Sotoudeh, Director, Power Marketing at EDF Renewables.  “North Dakota’s abundant wind resource and supportive regulatory environment combine to create an opportunity for an economic boost to the local economy through new construction and operations jobs, expanded tax base, and recurring, long-term income for participating landowners.”

“We project that by 2021 our customers will receive approximately 30 percent of their energy from renewable resources we own or secure through power purchase agreements,” said Otter Tail Power Company President Tim Rogelstad. “The Merricourt Wind Farm will be the largest capital project in our company’s history.”

EDF Renewables is one of the largest renewable energy developers in North America with 16 gigawatts of wind, solar, and storage projects developed throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

1 According to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2017 Residential Electricity Sales and U.S. Census Data