BP has announced it will add to its already substantial wind energy holdings in the USA with a “blade signing” ceremony for the 419 megawatt (MW) Flat Ridge 2 wind farm to be constructed near Wichita, Kansas.
The event was attended by Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, state legislators and company executives, no doubt keen to capitalise on good news for the state’s energy infrastructure and a boost for job numbers. The project will also perhaps help repair the parent company’s tarnished image resulting from the Gulf oil spill disaster from last year.
BP Wind Energy will spend $800 million on the massive farm, which will be constructed on 66,000 acres of land across four counties and consist of 262 GE wind turbines each with a rated capacity of 1.6 MW.
Flat Ridge 2 is BP’s second major foray into renewable energy investment in Kansas, after deciding to focus its wind power business efforts on the onshore market in the USA in 2009. BP owns and operates the Flat Ridge Phase I wind farm, a 100 MW project, which provides clean energy to 30,000 homes.
Wind farms can be a contentious local issue, particularly on land considered useful for farming, but BP says Flat Ridge 2 will create 500 jobs during its peak construction period and provide over one million dollars each year to local communities without “impacting traditional farming and ranching activities.”
Flat Ridge 2 was really made possible through a commitment of a Missouri renewable electricity provider Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. (AECI), which entered into a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) for 314 MW of electricity from the wind farm once it is online.
“The focus for us at Associated Electric Cooperative is low-cost, reliable power supply for 875,000 co-op consumers in three states,” said Roger Clark, director of AECI’s Engineering and Operations Division.
BP plans to market the remaining capacity of Flat Ridge 2 to other customers in the mid-West. When the wind farm is completed in 2012, it will be the largest in Kansas.
