Wholesale energy provider Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co., has acquired its 10th wind project, the 100 MW Wildhorse Mountain Wind Facility, located in Pushmataha County, Okla.
Roaring Fork Wind, a co-development partnership between Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. (RES) and Vestas, developed the project. Once operational, all electric energy, capacity and other attributes generated by the facility will be sold under a 20-year power purchase agreement to Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. (AECC).
“We are proud to announce our 10th wind project as we continue to build the future of energy,” says Southern Power’s president and CEO, Mark Lantrip. “Wildhorse Mountain is a great project for Southern Power’s growing footprint and a shining example of our collaborative partnership with RES. Our longtime partner Vestas was also a key player in delivering on this project. We look forward to its completion and operation.”
The project is expected to consist of 29 Vestas wind turbines. RES will provide the balance-of-plant construction of the facility, and Vestas will provide long-term maintenance of the turbines through a 20-year service agreement.
Wildhorse Mountain is expected to achieve commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2019. AECC intends to sell the renewable energy credits associated with the electricity produced by Wildhorse Mountain.
“AECC works on behalf of more than 500,000 electric cooperative members to add resources, like the 100 MW of capacity from Wildhorse Mountain Wind Facility, to its generation portfolio,” says Duane Highley, president and CEO of AECC. “This wind facility, along with AECC’s diverse, reliable generation portfolio, provides energy at the lowest possible cost to our members.”
Wildhorse Mountain is Southern Power’s fourth wind project within the state of Oklahoma. With this addition, Southern Power’s wind portfolio consists of more than 1.6 GW of wind generation. Southern Power’s wind facilities are part of the company’s 3 GW renewable fleet, which consists of 39 solar, wind and biomass facilities operating or under construction.
This project aligns with Southern Power’s overall business strategy of strengthening its wholesale business by acquiring and developing generating assets that are covered by long-term contracts with counterparties with strong credit support.
