Developers Formally Abandon Wind Farm Plan

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Developers have formally abandoned their efforts to build a wind farm in Goodhue County of southeastern Minnesota that drew strong citizen opposition because of the threat to eagles and bats.

In a filing made public Tuesday, New Era Wind Farm LLC told the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission it no longer intends to develop the project. The company asked the commission to close all pending matters related to it.

New Era had hoped to build a 78-megawatt wind farm near Zumbrota. But it was unable to overcome opposition from local groups, regulatory hurdles and issues with Xcel Energy Inc.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had estimated that the wind turbines could kill as many as eight to 15 bald eagles per year. The company's estimate was one eagle annually.