Pickens pinpointed Minnesota for the project after he halved an order for 667 GE 1.5MW turbines when plans for his $10 billion Texas wind project fell through.
52 of the turbines will be used in the Goodhue project, which was pre-developed by Minnesota-based National Wind. The Goodhue project was recently acquired by Mesa Wind -- a renewables arm of the Pickens empire.
Additionally the project has been pushed through by the American Wind Alliance, a group comprising Mesa and GE.
The Goodhue project has attracted strong resistance throughout the area. Local opponents have been forming groups to seek half-mile (0.8 km) turbine setbacks, close scrutiny of AWA's 30-page contract and a one-year moratorium on wind projects.
Several reportedly contentious meetings have been held and more are on regional dockets.
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