WPPI Energy, a nonprofit power company serving locally owned electric utilities in Wisconsin, Upper Michigan and Iowa, has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) for Invenergy’s Bishop Hill III Wind Energy Center.
The 132 MW facility is scheduled to begin commercial operations in mid-2018 in Henry County, Ill. WPPI Energy plans to buy power from the project through mid-2040 to serve its 51 member utilities and their customers.
Invenergy expects the wind farm to create more than 150 jobs during construction and up to six full-time jobs once it’s operational. In addition, the developer says the project will generate more than $10 million in local economic development in its first 10 years of operation through tax payments, lease payments to participating landowners, and wages and benefits for employees.
“This agreement provides WPPI Energy with a highly cost-effective resource that will more than double the amount of wind energy in our power supply portfolio,” comments Mike Peters, president and CEO of WPPI Energy. “When the Bishop Hill III project comes online, our power supply will be more than 40 percent emission-free.”
