Duke Energy Renewables recently announced that it is planning to build a large-scale wind power project in Oklahoma, the company’s first renewables project in the state.
When built, it will increase Duke Energy Renewables’ U.S. wind capacity to more than 2,000 MW.
Duke Energy Renewables will build, own, and operate the Frontier Windpower Project sited in Kay County, which is east of Blackwell, Oklahoma. The 200-MW wind farm will produce enough emissions-free electricity to power approximately 60,000 homes.
“We’re investing heavily in renewable energy, and surpassing 2,000 MW of wind power is a significant accomplishment for our company,” said Greg Wolf, president of Duke Energy’s Commercial Portfolio. “We are excited to be working with the community and local landowners as we get our first project in this wind-rich state underway. T
he facility will help City Utilities meet its renewable energy goals while creating economic development opportunities for Kay County.”
The power will be sold to City Utilities of Springfield, Missouri, under a 22-year agreement.
“City Utilities is pleased to partner with Duke Energy on the Frontier Windpower Project,” said Scott Miller, general manager of City Utilities. “Providing a long-term renewable source of power generation in this changing market is critical to the future of utilities. We look forward to bringing this source online for our customers in the coming months.”
Construction is scheduled to accelerate in the first quarter of 2016, and the Frontier Windpower Project is expected to be operational by the end of the year. It will consist of 61 Vestas V126-3.3 MW wind turbines. Duke Energy Renewables has successfully partnered with Vestas on many of its Texas wind projects.
“We’re very pleased to continue building our excellent partnership with Duke Energy Renewables, one of the top wind players in the competitive U.S. market,” said Chris Brown, president of Vestas’ sales and service division in the U.S. and Canada. “By choosing the V126-3.3 MW turbine for the Frontier wind site, the order also showcases our product portfolio’s great flexibility across all wind sites, as the model provides highly competitive cost of energy in a traditional 2-MW turbine market.”
Amshore US Wind provided development support for the project, which will be built by Wanzek Construction.
— Source: Duke Energy Renewables
For more information,
go to www.duke-energy.com/renewables.
