Nobles 2 Power Partners, a unit of Tenaska, signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Duluth-based Minnesota Power, a unit of ALLETE, Inc., to deliver 250 megawatts (MW) of renewable power from a wind project in southwest Minnesota.

The $400 million Nobles 2 project, currently in advanced development, is located near Wilmont in Nobles County. The project is anticipated to be operational in December 2019.

Tenaska, based in Omaha, Neb., has developed some 10,000 MW of natural gas-fired and renewable power projects.

The Nobles 2 project will support Minnesota Power's EnergyForward plan that has the company on pace to deliver 44% of its energy from renewable sources by 2025, reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2030, and exceed the state of Minnesota's renewable energy goals.

The Nobles 2 project is part of a wind development portfolio that Tenaska acquired last fall from Minneapolis, Minn.-based developer PRC Wind, which continues to provide development support services for the project.

The Nobles 2 project will interconnect to the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) regional transmission system. Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2018.

The facility will consist of up to 125 wind turbines. Vestas is anticipated to supply the wind turbines and provide maintenance services for the project.