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TailWinds

Support renewable wind energy with our TailWinds program.

Renewable energy available through our TailWinds wind energy program

As we know from living in the Midwest, the wind rarely stops. Thankfully, we can use that to our advantage by harnessing the wind as renewable wind energy.

Join TailWinds!

If you’re interested in supplementing your energy mix with renewable wind energy, call our Idea Center at 800-493-3299. You can enroll at any time for a one-year commitment.

Energy is available for purchase in 100-kilowatt-hour (kWh) blocks. Purchase one or more blocks! You’ll see a small additional charge on your monthly electric bills to help offset the cost of adding wind power to our resource mix.

Below is a breakdown of how much energy you’ll get with a 100-kWh block, and how that could affect your monthly bill.

 

100-kWh block

Minnesota: Additional monthly charge

North Dakota: Additional monthly charge

South Dakota: Additional monthly charge

Refrigerator

1

$3.39

$3.84

$3.73

Clothes dryer

1

$3.39

$3.84

$3.73

Deep freezer

1

$3.39

$3.84

$3.73

Small room air conditioner

3

$10.17

$11.52

$11.19

Water heating for family of 4

5

$16.95

$19.20

$18.65

For general questions regarding TailWinds, contact our Idea Center at 800-493-3299. For questions about how TailWinds will appear on your electric bill, please contact Customer Care Supervisor Collin Kremeier at [email protected] or 218-739-8443.

Minnesota enrollment form

North Dakota enrollment form

South Dakota enrollment form

Yes. Your TailWinds energy is a supplement—you'll have traditional electricity available as a backup.

No. All you need to do is sign up.

No, this isn't possible. Instead, the TailWinds turbine supplies electricity to our existing generation pool. The more customers who purchase, the more wind energy we’ll supply.

Only customers who subscribe to TailWinds pay for it.

Wind turbines use giant blades to catch the wind. As the blades turn, they also turn a shaft, which is connected to a generator. The generator turns this energy into electricity.

TailWinds electricity comes from a wind turbine rated at 900 kilowatts located near Hendricks, Minnesota. Both its rotor—measuring about 170 feet wide—and generator are mounted on a 237-foot tower.

Generally, no. New technology uses larger blades that rotate at a relatively low speed, making the risk to birds much lower than earlier turbine designs. Also, changes to tower designs have made turbine towers less appealing nesting spots than older lattice structures.

You may purchase as many 100-kilowatt-hour blocks as you like. However, the amount of electricity you sign up for cannot exceed your current average electricity use. We can’t sell you more energy than you consume, regardless of its source.

You're committed for a minimum of one year—unless you move away from our service area.

If you continue to be our customer, we'll transfer your wind-energy commitment to your new address. If you move and no longer are our customer, you'll be under no further obligation.

TailWinds applies no differently to customers on off-peak rates than to standard electric service customers.

Energy Experts

Let’s work together to make your project a success. Contact one of our team members directly.

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