OG&E Reaches Agreements for New Wind Farm Developments
September 29 2009 - 4:16PM
PR Newswire (US)
Agreements totaling 280 megawatts; in production late 2010 OKLAHOMA
CITY, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- OG&E today announced
agreements with developers who will build two new wind farms in
northwestern Oklahoma as part of a plan under which OG&E will
more than triple its current wind power capacity by the end of
2010. The construction of the new wind farms is contingent upon
Oklahoma Corporation Commission approval of the agreements
negotiated by OG&E. OG&E has 170 megawatts (MW) of wind
capacity in production today at its Centennial and Sooner wind
farms, both near Woodward. The new 100 MW "OU Spirit" wind farm,
now under construction near Woodward, is expected to be in
production by year-end. The agreements announced today result from
a competitive bid process conducted by OG&E earlier this year.
CPV Keenan submitted a proposal based on a 150 MW wind farm in
Woodward County and Edison Mission Energy a 130 MW facility in
Dewey County near Taloga. The agreements with CPV Keenan and Edison
Mission are both 20-year power-purchase agreements, under which the
developers will build, own and operate the wind generating
facilities and OG&E will purchase their electric output. The
two new facilities, "OU Spirit" and the company's existing wind
generation would combine to give OG&E a total of 550 MW of
wind-generation capacity - enough to power 125,000 homes on a
typical day. "We are pleased to take the next major step toward our
goal to significantly increase our renewable generating capacity,"
said OG&E spokesman Brian Alford. "Our request for proposals
attracted quality bids and our successful negotiation of these
projects will deliver the best-available value to our customers,
who have supported our efforts to increase our generation from
renewable sources." OG&E received more than 50 responses from a
variety of developers and sites after it issued its request for
proposals from wind power developers. Negotiations continue with
Chermac Energy, the third bidder on OG&E's short list announced
in June, for an additional 150 MW of wind energy from Texas County.
The company also expects to solicit additional proposals from wind
developers in the next several months with an eye toward adding
more wind generation in 2011 or 2012.. OG&E, which serves more
than 773,000 customers in a service territory spanning 30,000
square miles in Oklahoma and western Arkansas, is a subsidiary of
Oklahoma City-based OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE), which also is the
parent company of Enogex LLC, a midstream natural gas pipeline
business with principal operations in Oklahoma. DATASOURCE: OGE
Energy Corp. CONTACT: Brian Alford, +1-405-553-3187, or Financial,
Todd Tidwell, +1-405-553-3966, both of OG&E Web Site:
http://www.oge.com/
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