ST. PAUL (LEARFIELD) — The state Public Utilities Commission is giving the green light to site permits and transmission routes for the Big Bend Wind and Red Rock Solar projects in southwest Minnesota.
The state’s largest renewable energy project is expected to create up to 300 megawatts of wind power and 60 megawatts of solar generation. The P-U-C held several public meetings and heard concerns regarding the visual impact of the wind turbines to the sacred historic Jeffers Petroglyphs near Comfrey.
But the project applicants were able to reach agreement with the Lower Sioux and Upper Sioux Indian communities and the Minnesota Historical Society addressing concerns about the historic carvings.
