In mid-June, Minnesota Power applied for a special use permit to install 17 wind turbines in Morton County.

A permit application is pending for 16 others in Oliver County.

The Morton County Planning and Zoning Commission will consider the application at a meeting at 5:30 p.m. July 30 at the Morton County Courthouse.

Minnesota Power already submitted an application to the North Dakota Public Service Commission for the project in May. A public hearing on the application is tentatively set for Aug. 25. A hearing location is still being discussed.

Jim Atkinson, senior environmental compliance specialist for Minnesota Power, said the company previously acquired options for easements from landowners for the 33 proposed turbine sites.

If permits are approved, these would officially become easements for the wind turbines and property owners would be paid more for use of the land, Atkinson said.

He said they have been compiling the option to easements for more than a year. "There are tens of thousands of acres involved in this," Atkinson said.

Jerry Lein, public utilities analyst for the Public Service Commission, said other agencies will testify or be consulted before the wind turbine application is deemed complete. Testimony will be received from the North Dakota State Historical Society, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and possibly the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. The process may take up to six months.

"We need to basically determine if the location is a good one," Lein said. "We will be looking at wetlands, wildlife reserves or something at the place of the turbine. If trees need to be removed, we will require they be replaced."

Atkinson was optimistic the permitting process could advance enough to allow some siting work to begin this fall for the project. Sixteen of the turbines could be completed and ready for use in 2010, crossing both counties, and 17 more will be finished in 2011.

He said Minnesota Power has acquired rights to connect the turbines' energy source to a Minnkota transmission line near Center. That will help bring the electricity back to Duluth, Minn., where it can be sent to high-demand areas.

"This is one of the best wind areas in North Dakota," he said.