Enel Kicks Off Construction of $435M Wind Farm
The new Thunder Ranch wind facility will have a total installed capacity of almost 300 megawatts and is expected to begin operations by the end of 2017.
By Anca Gagiuc
Chisholm View Wind Farm, another one of Enel Group’s facilities in Oklahoma.
Enel S.p.A., through its subsidiary Enel Green Power North America Inc. (EGPNA) has started construction of the 298-megawatt Thunder Ranch wind farm located in Garfield, Kay and Noble Counties, Okla. The facility will be supported by long-term power purchase agreements for the sale of power and renewable energy credits.
The project, part of the investment outlined in Enel’s current strategic plan, is estimated to cost roughly $435 million and will be financed through Enel Group’s own resources. Thunder Ranch is owned by EGPNA subsidiary Thunder Ranch Wind Project LLC and is anticipated to begin operations by the end of 2017. Upon completion, the facility will generate more than 1,100 gigawatt-hours per year, sufficient to power more than 89,000 households, while reducing the emission of about 790,000 tons of CO2 annually.
Enel currently ranks as the second largest wind energy operator in Oklahoma, where the company recently started construction of the 300-megawatt Red Dirt wind project. The 150-megawatt Rocky Ridge, Chisholm View I & II (300 megawatts in total), Origin (150 megawatts), Osage Wind (150 megawatts), Little Elk (74 megawatts), Goodwell (200 megawatts) and Drift Sand (108 megawatts) are already operational. Combined, the functional wind farms account for a total managed capacity of more than 1.1 gigawatts and an overall investment of nearly $2 billion.
Image courtesy of Enel Green Power
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