Public Service Co. of Oklahoma (PSO) and Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) – companies of American Electric Power (AEP) – are seeking regulatory approvals to purchase three Oklahoma wind projects totaling 1,485 MW.
The projects, under development by Invenergy, include a 999 MW facility being built north of Weatherford, a 287 MW facility being built southwest of Enid and a 199 MW facility being built south of Alva.
These projects were selected following a request for proposals to procure low-cost wind generation options for PSO and SWEPCO customers. The 199 MW project is projected to be completed by the end of 2020, and the other projects will be completed by the end of 2021. Collectively, the three facilities would provide more than 5.7 million MWh of new wind energy annually to serve customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.
If the projects are approved, the total investment in the facilities would be nearly $2 billion, inclusive of all costs. Further, adding this generation is expected to save SWEPCO and PSO customers approximately $3 billion, net of cost, over 30 years.
“AEP continues to add clean, renewable generation to our power plant fleet, driven by the expectations of our customers and technology advances,” comments Nicholas K. Akins, chairman, president and CEO of AEP. “Purchasing these wind facilities is consistent with our strategy of investing in the energy resources of the future, and it will save our customers money while providing significant economic benefits to local communities. This renewable generation will enable us to provide our PSO and SWEPCO customers with the affordable, reliable and clean power they have said they want.”
If approved as proposed, SWEPCO would own 810 MW of wind generation, which is approximately 55% of the projects. PSO would own 675 MW of wind generation, which is approximately 45% of the projects. The wind farms are subject to regulatory approvals in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, as well as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The amount of generation acquired by PSO or SWEPCO can be scaled, subject to commercial limitations, to align with individual state resource needs, as determined by the respective state commissions.
In addition to these projects, AEP recently added 724 MW of wind and battery generation to its contracted competitive portfolio and has proposed adding more than 9,100 MW of new wind and solar generation and nearly 2,300 MW of new natural gas generation to its regulated power plant fleet by 2030. AEP says it has cut its carbon dioxide emissions 59% since 2000.
