Duke Energy expands wind power generation efforts
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) announced plans to develop a 51-megawatt wind power project in eastern Colorado. The Charlotte-based utility has also closed on the acquisition of a Pennsylvania wind farm. The announcement on Monday is part of the utility's effort to grow its portfolio of renewable power assets.
The Colorado project is named after the famed American frontiersman Kit Carson. It will consist of 34 GE wind turbines, each capable of generating 1.5 MW of electricity. To construct the wind farm, Duke Energy will draw upon the supply of turbines it arranged to purchase from GE in September 2008. The project will be the company's first in the state and fourth in the region.
"The Kit Carson Windpower Project fits perfectly with our sustainable business approach - it makes sense for people, the planet and profits," said Wouter van Kempen, president of Duke Energy Generation Services (DEGS), a business unit of Duke Energy that owns and develops renewable energy assets.
As a result of a 20-year power purchase agreement, the project will supply clean, renewable energy to customers of the 44 electric cooperatives. The project is expected to enter commercial operation by the end of 2010.
The close of Duke Energy's acquisition of the 70-MW North Allegheny Wind power Project in Pennsylvania brings the company its first commercial wind farm in the eastern U.S. Duke Energy purchased the project from wind turbine manufacturer and project developer Gamesa Energy USA. The wind farm will generate enough energy to power approximately 18,000 homes.
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