Southwest Minnesota Wind Farm Sold Out of Bankruptcy to Bank and Local Investors
A community-owned wind farm in southwest Minnesota is being sold, ending a costly trip through bankruptcy court that its new owners say achieved just one purpose — escaping a hefty, unpayable fine for a lapse in filing paperwork with federal energy regulators, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on Thursday. Under terms of the court sale, four turbines of the Minwind project near Luverne, Minn., have been sold for $622,000 to a group of community investors led by farmer Dean Tofteland in a deal that closed last week. Seven turbines are approved for sale to the wind farm’s lender, First Farmers & Merchants National Bank of Luverne, for $1.96 million in a noncash deal expected to close this year. More than 300 small investors, including many farmers, stand to lose all or most of their investment in Minwind. It was completed in 2004 on two sites 8 miles apart under a state policy to encourage locally owned wind energy. The turbines have continued to operate during the chapter 11 bankruptcy case, which was filed in January.