First Wind has commemorated the fifth anniversary of successful commercial operations of its Milford Wind I project, which spans Beaver and Millard counties in Utah.
Milford Wind I consists of 97 operating turbines with a total capacity of 204 MW. The project was expanded in 2011 to add 68 more turbines and 102 MW of capacity. Altogether, First Wind says, the 306 MW Milford Wind facility has produced more than 2.65 million MWh of energy since the first phase began commercial operations on Nov. 16, 2009.
‘As our first project in Utah and the largest operating wind project in the state, the Milford Wind project has been a great success since going online in 2009. We are very proud to celebrate this project among our growing portfolio of renewable energy projects across the country," says Paul Gaynor, CEO of First Wind.
Power from the Milford Wind project is sold to the Southern California Public Power Authority, with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power as its largest customer. The power is transmitted through a First Wind-built, 88-mile transmission line, which connects with the Intermountain Power Plant in Delta and the Southern Transmission System, which brings the electricity into the Los Angeles metro area.
The project is located on land owned by the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration of Utah, the federal Bureau of Land Management and some private landowners. According to First Wind, the Milford project was the first utility-scale wind farm built on federal land.
Milford Wind I created more than 250 development and construction jobs, and First Wind says it directly spent about $30 million with Utah-based businesses developing and building the first phase of the project and another $56 million in indirect spending such as wages, taxes and more.
The company says the combined 306 MW facility supports 28 full-time, on-site operations and maintenance jobs. Collectively, the Milford Wind project represents $85.5 million in investments in Utah businesses, labor and subcontractors.
"We're pleased that our Milford project is making a positive economic and environmental contribution to the community and the region," says Gaynor.
