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Foxtail Wind Project UpdateMay 2019

The first turbine blades started to arrive in early May at the railyard in Pingree, ND. The blades are produced at a Vestas production facility in Windsor, Colorado.

Foxtail Wind Construction After a long winter, construction has resumed on Xcel Energy’s Foxtail wind project in Dickey County. Crews are using specialized machinery to bury the remainder of more than 44 miles of underground collection cable.

Several roads within the project area are being upgraded before trucks begin delivering turbine parts in June and July. The turbine components will be delivered from Pingree, North Dakota where they are arriving by rail. Please use extra caution when driving on area roads this summer because of the heavy truck traffic.

When complete, the 75 turbine, 150 megawatt project will supply enough carbon-free, renewable energy to power nearly 80,000 homes. Wind is a clean, renewable resource and continues to be a growing part of our energy supply. Foxtail is our third wind farm in the state which means more emissions-free power, more lease payments to landowners, more jobs in the state, and more property taxes that go directly to support local governments.

Wind farm construction timeline • Substation construction: Began May 2018

• Foundation construction: Completed May 2019

• Underground collection cable installation: Began June 2018

• Delivery of wind tower and components: Beginning June 2019

• Wind turbine installation: Beginning June 2019

• Wind farm estimated in-service date: September 2019

Benefits • Deliver low-cost, carbon-free wind energy

• Enough power for nearly 80,000 homes

• Provide more than $30 million in payments to landowners over the life of the project

• Generate more than $20 million in revenue for state and local governments and school districts

• 100 construction jobs

• Create 10 full-time operations jobs

Contact UsIf you have questions or comments please contact Sean Lawler at sean.w.lawler@xcelenergy.com or call 612.330.1956. The latest project information is available at xcelenergy.com/foxtail.

The teeth on blades allow them to slice through the air with less resistance, for less noise plus slower speeds of newer wind turbines result in less sound output.

Two cranes are used to remove blades from rail cars. The blades are 194 feet long and weigh approximately 21,000 pounds.

Blades are stacked at the project’s laydown yard. The blades will be delivered to the project site starting in June.

FactoidWind turbines require certain wind speeds to operate. These are known as cut-in (7 MPH) and cut-out speeds (50+ MPH). Strong steady winds are ideal for energy production.

Construction crews pour a concrete pad in front of the Operations & Maintenance building