Wind and Solar Land Leasing in Burke County, North Dakota

The Northern Divide Wind Energy Center: an operating 200 MW project since 2020

The Northern Divide Wind Energy Center has been generating power in Burke County since it reached commercial operation on December 22, 2020. NextEra Energy Resources, through its subsidiary Northern Divide Wind, LLC, built 74 turbines across roughly 11,000 acres with a combined capacity of about 200 megawatts, plus a 43-mile, 345-kilovolt transmission line running from the wind farm to Basin Electric Power Cooperative's Tande Substation in neighboring Mountrail County. Basin Electric buys the output under a long-term power purchase agreement.

The project's history is worth knowing because it shows the North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC) does sometimes say no: NextEra's original proposal, filed as "Burke Wind" by a different subsidiary, called for 76 turbines and a larger footprint, and the PSC denied that siting permit over environmental-impact concerns. NextEra came back with a redesigned, smaller-footprint project -- the current 74-turbine Northern Divide layout, at roughly half the original acreage -- and the PSC approved that version's siting permit in 2020. For a landowner or buyer, that history is a reminder that a developer's initial proposal for a specific tract isn't a guarantee of what eventually gets built, sited, or approved.

A new 100 MW battery project approved next to it, February 2026

Northern Divide Energy Storage, LLC -- another indirect NextEra Energy Resources subsidiary -- filed an application with the PSC on November 19, 2024 (Case No. PU-24-371) for a Certificate of Site Compatibility to build a 100-megawatt, four-hour-duration (400 MWh) battery energy storage system on about 21 acres in the southeast quarter of Section 17, Township 161 North, Range 93 West, sited adjacent to the existing wind farm. The PSC held a public hearing on the application on December 19, 2025 at Bowbells Memorial City Hall, and approved the Certificate of Site Compatibility on February 18, 2026 in a unanimous vote.

The project represents an estimated $128.6 million investment using containerized LG-brand lithium-ion battery units, with construction beginning in 2026 and commercial operation targeted for December 2026. One detail from the PSC's approval is worth flagging for anyone near the site: PSC Chairman Randy Christmann said publicly that future battery-storage applicants need to give local fire departments and emergency managers more information upfront about fire risk and what toxins could be released in a fire -- a live regulatory concern with this specific, newly-approved facility, not a hypothetical one. If a parcel sits near the Section 17 site, ask the county emergency manager or fire district what emergency-response planning, if any, has been coordinated with NextEra as construction proceeds.

Burke County's own turbine setback rule: 2 miles from any occupied structure

Separate from anything the PSC requires at the state level, Burke County's own Planning & Zoning Ordinance (amended most recently in October 2025) sets its own wind-turbine siting standard for the county's 11 unorganized townships: each wind turbine must be set back at least 2 miles from any occupied structure. That's a notably strict standard compared to many county wind ordinances nationally, which more commonly set setbacks as a multiple of turbine height or rotor diameter (often well under half a mile) rather than a flat 2-mile figure -- so don't assume a setback rule from another county's wind ordinance, or a national explainer, describes what actually applies here.

The ordinance also includes a specific variance and waiver process: Burke County's Planning and Zoning Commission may grant a variance from the 2-mile setback if the permit holder and the affected neighboring property owner both sign a waiver agreement, and it may also grant a variance tied to an occupied structure that has not actually been occupied for a year or more before the permit application or variance request was submitted. For a landowner considering a wind lease near an occupied neighboring home, or a buyer evaluating a parcel near an existing turbine, that waiver mechanism -- not just the flat 2-mile number -- is what determines whether a specific siting is actually workable.

What this means for a specific parcel

1. Confirm whether a parcel sits within either project's footprint (Northern Divide Wind's roughly 11,000-acre area, or the ~21-acre Section 17 battery site) or within the 2-mile occupied-structure setback zone of an existing or permitted turbine -- Burke County GIS or the Planning and Zoning office can help pin this down.
2. If a listing references an existing wind lease or easement, get the actual lease document rather than relying on a description -- confirm term length, payment structure, and whether it's tied to the operating Northern Divide project specifically or a separate, undeveloped lease option.
3. If a neighboring parcel has, or may get, a turbine near your property line, ask whether a waiver agreement under the county's variance process has been signed or would be needed -- this can affect what your own land can be used for even if you never sign a wind lease yourself.
4. For land near the Section 17 battery-storage site, ask the county or NextEra directly about current construction status, timeline, and any coordinated fire/emergency-response planning, given the PSC chairman's stated concern on this point.
5. Treat the 2-mile turbine setback and its waiver process as Burke County's specific rule -- confirm current wording and any further 2025-2026 amendments directly with the county rather than assuming another North Dakota county's wind ordinance applies here.