Two wind farms totaling 620 MW and secured by long-term power purchase agreements with major companies are now operational in Kansas and Nebraska.
Enel Green Power North America reported that the two projects will generate about a combined 2,600 GWh annually. Those are the 320-MW Rattlesnake Creek wind farm, Enel’s first facility in Nebraska, and the 300-MW Diamond Vista farm in Kansas.
“With the completion of Rattlesnake Creek and Diamond Vista, we have now added more than 800 MW of new wind capacity in 2018 in the US, strengthening our growth in the country and confirming our position as partner of choice for commercial and industrial customers,” Antonio Cammisecra, head of Enel Green Power, said in a statement. “These projects further demonstrate our ability to develop customized solutions that best meet the renewable energy needs of our customers.”
The $430 million Rattlesnake Creek wind farm is located in Dixon County, Nebraska. It is fully contracted with long-term power purchase agreements, initially with Adobe through 2028 and also Facebook will gradually buy the wind farm’s full output by 2029. The agreement includes 100 percent of the energy that Facebook will use to power its data center in Papillion.
The $400 million Diamond Vista wind farm, located in Marion and Dickinson Counties, Kansas, is supported by three separate long-term power purchase agreements. The electricity and renewable energy credits from a 100 MW portion of the wind farm will be sold to global manufacturing company Kohler Co. to supply 100 percent of the annual electricity needed to power the company’s US and Canadian operations, including its 85 manufacturing facilities, offices and warehouses.
Additionally, the output and renewable energy credits from another 100 MW portion of the facility will be sold to City Utilities of Springfield, and those from an 84 MW portion to Tri-County Electric Cooperative of Oklahoma.
Rattlesnake Creek was initially developed by a subsidiary of Tradewind Energy. It uses Acciona turbines and interconnects with the 230-kV transmission line owned by the Nebraska Public Power District.
Diamond Vista also was developed by Tradewind and uses Acciona turbines. It connects with the 230-kV Union Ridge substation.
Enel Green Power now has more than 830 MW of renewable energy capacity in North American and 2.6 GW globally.