Public commission approves largest single-site wind project in the USA

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Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) has announced that the Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) has determined that the Wind Catcher Energy Connection project, the largest single-site wind project in the United States, is in the public interest, marking the project's first major approval by planning authorities. The estimated cost of the project is US$4.5 billion.

Wind Catcher Energy Connection is a proposed major wind farm and a dedicated power line that will supply American Electric Power (AEP), SWEPCO's parent company, customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. It includes the acquisition of a 2,000 MW wind farm under construction in the Oklahoma Panhandle, and construction of an approximately 560km dedicated power line that will carry the wind energy to the Tulsa area, where the existing grid will deliver it to customers.

The wind farm is being developed by Invenergy in Cimarron and Texas counties in the north-west of Oklahoma. SWEPCO and PSO will purchase the facility at completion, which is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2020.

SWEPCO will own 70% of the project. Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), SWEPCO's sister company, will own the remaining 30%.

SWEPCO filed its application for the project with the APSC in July 2017. A settlement agreement was submitted in February which included provisions agreed to by the APSC General Staff, the Arkansas Attorney General, SWEPCO, Walmart Stores, Inc. and Sam's West, Inc. SWEPCO has agreed to guarantee a cap on construction costs, qualification for 100% of the federal Production Tax Credits and the minimum annual production of the project.

SWEPCO anticipates the project will save its customers, which include including Walmart, the City of Fayetteville, the University of Arkansas, more than US$4 billion over the 25-year life of the wind farm, compared to the projected costs of buying power on the open market.

Cost savings include no fuel cost for wind, which lowers SWEPCO's overall fuel and purchased power costs; full value of the federal Production Tax Credit, which is available for construction of new wind farm projects; and the cost-efficient delivery of the wind generation to customers through the new, dedicated power line.

Customers will see savings primarily through a reduction in the fuel portion of their bills, beginning in 2021.

The economic impact of the project will include manufacturing key components of the project's wind turbines in states served by SWEPCO. GE Renewable Energy, which will provide 800 of its 2.5 MW wind turbines for the Wind Catcher facility, anticipates that a significant number of turbine blades will be manufactured in Arkansas.

The Wind Catcher project is also subject to the approval of SWEPCO's applications in Louisiana and Texas, and PSO's application in Oklahoma, as well as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.