Wind projects boost cargo at Twin Ports

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) -- The rush to finish wind farm projects before a federal tax incentive expires has boosted shipments at the Port of Duluth-Superior.

Duluth Seaway Port Authority executive director Adolph Ojard says they've handled nearly a dozen shipments of wind turbine components, plus a number of shipments of U.S.-manufactured blades being sent to Brazil.

The federal credit expires at the end of the year. It provides wind developers a tax break of 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour for the power they generate from utility-scale wind projects.

The port is also handling a variety of other cargo, including huge steam and gas turbines and generators, mining machinery, and other heavy equipment for projects across the Midwest and Canada.