The Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA) has entered into a 15-year agreement to purchase 50 MW of wind energy output annually from the Green River Wind Farm in northwestern Illinois.
IMEA’s share of output from the project is expected to power approximately 16,000 typical Illinois homes annually. The agreement will boost the amount of wind-generated energy output serving IMEA municipal electric systems to 120 MW.
Located in Lee and Whiteside counties, the 194 MW Green River project, developed by Geronimo Energy, is expected to be completed in October. Consisting of 74 turbines across 13,000 acres, the wind farm will be located 130 miles west of Chicago.
Kevin Gaden, president and CEO of IMEA, calls the project “a win for all involved.”
“As we continue to diversify our resource portfolio, this project fits our needs to cost-effectively add another source of green energy,” he says.
IMEA also purchases power from the Lee-DeKalb Wind Energy Center in Illinois, several solar demonstration projects and two hydro facilities. Approximately 10% of the agency’s electricity comes from renewable sources.
