SunEdison, Inc. (NYSE: SUNE) has secured financing for and commenced construction of the Bingham Wind project in Maine, USA.
The company says the 185-megawatt wind farm is expected to be the largest of its type in the USA’s New England region and will bring SunEdison’s total wind capacity in Maine to 552 megawatts.
The facility is forecast to produce enough low-cost wind energy to power more than 65,000 homes and the construction phase will generate 400+ local jobs.
“SunEdison has made a major commitment in Maine’s renewable energy future, and that commitment creates new local jobs and incremental tax revenues for the state, as well as long term stable and competitive electricity prices for rate payers,” said Paul Gaynor, SunEdison executive vice president of the Americas and EMEA. ” Bingham is a fantastic example of how good policies can create great economic and environmental results.”
Electricity generated will be sold to three local utilities in New England under 15-year power purchase agreements.
SunEdison’s yieldco, TerraForm Power, intends acquiring the wind farm once it is operational; which is expected to be in late 2016. Operation and maintenance of the facility will be provided by SunEdison Services.
Wind power is becoming a significant employer in Maine, with as many as 4,200 jobs forecast to be created during 2015. The wind energy sector has already invested more than USD $550 million into the Maine economy since 2006 and is expected to invest (PDF) another $750 million in the next few years.
In other SunEdison news, the company announced the inauguration of the 50MW Dammakhedi solar farm in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; the first to use single axis tracking to maximize electricity generation.
“As India’s economy continues to grow, it will need access to clean, cost effective, and reliable electricity,” stated Pashupathy Gopalan, SunEdison Asia-Pacific president. “Solar generated electricity is the ideal solution. Solar is more cost effective than energy generated from fossil fuels in India , solar power plants can be built quickly and additional capacity can be easily added later on.”
More than one thousand jobs were created during construction, and the project was completed two months ahead of schedule.
SunEdison has established a significant solar presence in India and is also expanding into wind power in the country. Last month, the company announced an agreement to acquire Continuum Wind Energy; which has 412 MW of operational wind capacity in India and more than 1,000 MW in development across six states.
