A wind farm in Grant County began operating last week.
Chisholm View II in Hunter — the most Enel Green Power North America, Inc., EGP-NA — began operations and expanded the existing site to an installed capacity of 300 megawatts.
Construction of the wind farm cost $90 million, according to a release. The farm is one of two that began operations last week. The other is Drift Sand located in Rush Springs.
“With Drift Sand and Chisholm View II, we have achieved the significant milestone of having more than 1 gigawatt of operational wind capacity in Oklahoma”, said Rafael Gonzalez, Enel’s Head of Renewable Energies for North America, in a written statement. “These projects signify our continued commitment to growth not only in Oklahoma, where we are playing an integral part in diversifying the state’s renewable energy economy, but also in other states of the U.S., a country where in 2016 we started construction of more than 1 gigawatt of renewable energy projects.”
Chisholm View II was an expansion of an existing 235 megawatts Chisholm View wind farm. The expansion is expected to generate enough power for 19,000 households while avoiding an annual emission of more than 126,000 tons of carbon dioxide, according to a release.
Chisholm View II is owned by Chisholm View II Holding, LLC, which is owned by Enel Kansas, LLC. The project’s power and renewable energy credits will be sold under bundled, long-term power purchase agreements, according to a release.
EGP-NA began Oklahoma operations in 2012 with the MW Rocky Ridge wind farm. Today, the company is the second largest owner and operator of wind energy in Oklahoma, according to a release. The company has eight wind sites in Oklahoma.
The company operates two wind projects in Northwest Oklahoma — Chisholm View Wind Project and the Chisholm View II Wind Project. Both projects operate in Garfield and Grant counties. The Chisholm View project began operations in 2012 and has a total installed capacity of 235.2 megawatts. The second project has a total installed capacity of 64.8 megawatts.
EGP-NA also operates in Kiowa, Washita, Carter, Garvin, Murray, Osage, Texas and Grandy counties and in 23 states and Canada.
Gov. Mary Fallin said Oklahoma ranks as one of the top states with which to do business in the industry.
“Oklahoma now ranks fourth in the nation for wind capacity, thanks in part, to EGP-NA’s $2 billion investment in Oklahoma’s energy economy,” she said.
STORY BY: ENID NEWS & EAGLE
WRITTEN BY: EMILY SUMMARS
