Flagged wooden stakes along road shoulders in western Rock County mark areas where soil borings are testing road quality for the upcoming Walleye Wind Farm construction.
The 100-megawatt wind farm will have 36 turbines in Beaver Creek and Martin townships along with portions of Rose Dell, Springwater, Luverne and Mound.
NextEra will focus on selecting turbine sites in the townships, and exact locations of potential turbines will be determined later this year.
The company will apply for a site permit and certificate of need from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, a process that may take up to 12 months to complete.
Meanwhile, Rock County Commissioners on April 7 approved two conditional use permits to erect meteorological towers in Beaver Creek Township.
The towers, located in sections 6 and 35, record wind speeds, direction, pressure, temperature and other assessments for the development of a potential wind farm.
Construction on the new Walleye Wind turbines could begin in the fall of 2021.