With the completion of EDP Renewables’ Meadow Lake V Wind Farm in White County, Ind., Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative Inc. and Wabash Valley Power will soon be recipients of a combined 100 MW of wind energy. A joint site dedication for the Meadow Lake V Wind Farm was held earlier this week.
Hoosier Energy and Wabash Valley Power are nonprofit wholesale providers of electricity. The 100 MW of renewable energy from the new wind farm will benefit their combined 41 distribution electric cooperatives, located in Indiana and parts of Illinois and Missouri. Furthermore, they say over 611,000 homes, farms and businesses served by the 41 distribution cooperatives will benefit from the wind agreement.
In 2016, the two generation and transmission cooperatives entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with EDP Renewables to purchase 100% of the wind capacity from Meadow Lake V, creating the impetus for the development. Located near Interstate 65 in northwestern Indiana, the first phase of the Meadow Lake Wind Farm began operations in 2009. With the completion of Phase V this year, the total installed capacity is 601 MW – enough electricity to power approximately 159,000 average-size Indiana homes.
“Electric cooperatives are focused on providing cost-effective energy for their member systems through a variety of resources, including renewables,” comments Steve Smith, Hoosier Energy’s president and CEO. “This agreement adds more wind resources to our ‘all of the above’ portfolio, which includes coal, natural gas, wind, hydro and gas generation.”
“Diversifying our power supply mix is a longheld strategy that reduces both expense and risk for our members,” adds Jay Bartlett, CEO of Wabash Valley Power. “Purchasing wind and other renewable resources furthers our mission to provide affordable, reliable and sustainable energy to our members.”
The PPA will provide 25 MW of energy annually in 2018 and an additional 50 MW in 2020 for Hoosier Energy’s cooperative member systems. For Wabash Valley Power members, the agreement will provide 25 MW of energy beginning in 2018.
