facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts Windaction http://www.windaction.org/articles/c112+89?theme=atom Xarayar 2006-06-12T02:16:27Z .37967 2013-04-05T12:12:27Z 2013-04-05T12:12:27Z

U.S. District Judge Michael Davis dismissed a lawsuit filed by the developer of the 100-turbine Merricourt project, which remains unbuilt amid lingering fears that whooping cranes and piping plovers will be slashed to death by its turbine blades.

.36482 2012-11-07T23:09:29Z 2012-11-07T23:09:29Z

Vaux said the city is in contact with Dallas-based Trinity Industries, which recently purchased DMI from Otter Tail Corp., but he said Trinity officials are "holding their plans for this facility very close to the vest and have assured us they will let us know what those plans are when the time is appropriate."

.36153 2012-09-26T12:22:01Z 2012-09-26T12:22:01Z

LM Wind Power, one of Grand Forks' largest manufacturers, announced Tuesday that it would lay off more than half of its workforce. The company cited a downturn in the wind power industry, largely connected to the failure of Congress to renew production tax credits. Local officials say they're assured LM isn't closing the plant here.

.35822 2012-08-18T23:02:46Z 2012-08-18T23:02:46Z

NextEra energy needed approval for a wind farm. BNI Coal was facing penalties for environmental rules. The Arthur Companies needed a license for a grain elevator. All of them went before the North Dakota Public Service Commission to state their cases.

.35785 2012-08-15T14:44:32Z 2012-08-15T14:44:32Z

More than 800 jobs directly involving wind-energy manufacturing in North Dakota are at stake as an important tax incentive for renewable energy is set to expire at year's end.

.34754 2012-04-06T17:20:03Z 2012-04-06T17:20:03Z

The state, often rated as having the greatest wind potential in the nation, now has about 1,400 megawatts of total wind capacity. ...But notices of intent for new wind farms have stalled since last fall and development has slowed in recent months.

.34598 2012-03-20T23:20:27Z 2012-03-20T23:20:27Z

Nearly two months of negotiations failed to settle a lawsuit against Xcel Energy over a stalled $400 million North Dakota wind farm, Xcel Energy said Tuesday, March 20. Now Xcel is preparing for a trial, but the wind farm developer, enXco Development Corp., says it's still open to talks.

.33301 2011-10-13T20:20:08Z 2011-10-13T20:20:08Z

The state's wind energy development pace is accelerating because of next year's possible loss of a federal tax break for wind energy, and a requirement in neighboring Minnesota that utilities supply 25 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025.

.32211 2011-06-16T13:59:58Z 2011-06-16T13:59:58Z

In PSC filings in 2008, enXco and Xcel were both part of the planned Merricourt Wind Farm. EnXco would develop and construct the wind farm while Xcel would purchase the resulting electricity. In April 2011, Xcel announced it was terminating the contract over unresolved issues.

.32125 2011-06-09T10:55:04Z 2011-06-09T10:55:04Z

EnXco President and CEO Tristan Grimbert said in an interview that his company still wants to build the project with Xcel's participation even though the two are suing each other over the termination.

.31897 2011-05-06T14:33:17Z 2011-05-06T14:33:17Z

Xcel Energy is asking a federal district court in Minnesota to find that it had the right to terminate a $400 million wind farm development contract with its partner enXco. enXco has counter-sued, asking for $245 millon in damages.

.31640 2011-04-06T22:45:18Z 2011-04-06T22:45:18Z

The decision to scrap the project apparently came as a surprise to enXco. Its parent company, EDF Energies Nouvelles of France, issued a statement Tuesday that disputed Xcel's reasons. It said that enXco would continue to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to mitigate threats to endangered species.

.31636 2011-04-06T20:39:55Z 2011-04-06T20:39:55Z

On the plains of North Dakota, two rare birds have sparked an unusual fight between giant energy companies that have long worked as partners. The battle erupted over the endangered whooping crane, which migrates through the state, and the piping plover, a threatened species on the northern plains.

.31631 2011-04-05T21:23:12Z 2011-04-05T21:23:12Z

The project's developer, enXco, said Tuesday that it disputes Xcel's canceling of the project because of threats to two endangered birds. In a statement released by its French parent company, enXco said it intended to fight the termination of the 150-megawatt Merricourt Wind Project announced last week by Xcel.

.31343 2011-03-05T23:10:33Z 2011-03-05T23:10:33Z

In a civil complaint filed Thursday in Fargo's U.S. District Court, DMI Industries Inc. claims it was out $5.4 million after the company lost business and incurred higher costs when its Delaware-based supplier failed to make good on an urgent order.

.30764 2011-01-14T14:42:01Z 2011-01-14T14:42:01Z

We`ve gotten used to seeing giant wind turbine blades moving across the state. And we`ve been watching the ever-changing landscape as those new wind farms pop up. But the pace might be slowing down rapidly.

.30756 2011-01-13T13:12:38Z 2011-01-13T13:12:38Z

LM Wind Power will lay off about 150 workers at its Grand Forks manufacturing facility, the company announced Wednesday. According to a news release, the company is responding to the "dramatic reduction" in wind turbine installations in the U.S. in 2010 and "prolonged uncertainty" around government support for the renewable energy sector.

.30743 2011-01-11T03:19:48Z 2011-01-11T03:19:48Z

North Dakota is still losing businesses from time to time. This week, Schuff Steel announced it would not be building a wind tower manufacturing plant at the Northern Plains Commerce Center. The wind energy market has experienced a 70% decline since reaching historic high levels in 2009, lowering the demand for conventional tube wind towers.

.30554 2010-12-29T14:43:15Z 2010-12-29T14:43:15Z

The Occupational Safety and Health Administratin's investigation came after Joseph Francis Schaff, 42, East Grand Forks, was pinned between two pieces of heavy machinery in July and, subsequently, died of his injuries.

.29911 2010-11-13T11:34:24Z 2010-11-13T11:34:24Z

But the PSC isn`t completely sold yet. Commissioners agreed to issue a Notice of Opportunity, meaning North Dakotans can ask the PSC to hold a public hearing on the company`s change request. If no one requests one, the PSC can act on the company`s request.