North American Windpower: Agreement Formed To Purchase Energy From Smoky Hills Wind Farm

Agreement Formed To Purchase Energy From Smoky Hills Wind Farm

in News Departments > Projects & Contracts

by NAW Staff Wednesday March 07 2007

Midwest Energy, a Hays, Kan.-based electric and natural gas provider, has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with TradeWind Energy LLC, a Lenexa, Kan.-based wind farm developer, for the purchase of 25 MW of wind energy generated from its Smoky Hills Wind Farm. The agreement was made after Midwest Energy reviewed several proposals from wind energy companies.

The Smoky Hills Wind Farm is located 25 miles west of Salina, Kan. - just north of Interstate 70 between Ellsworth and Lincoln. The project is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2007, the companies say.

"We're very pleased to participate in the Smoky Hills Wind Farm," says Earnie Lehman, Midwest Energy's president and general manager. "It will be connected directly to our transmission system and provide our customer-owners with an attractive energy resource that will grow in value in future years. This is a big first step to meeting our commitment to provide wind energy equal to 10 percent of our peak demand in 2010 and 20 percent of our peak in 2020."

According to Frank Costanza, TradeWind Energy's senior vice president, with the execution of the agreement with Midwest Energy, the company has sold all the energy to be produced by the turbines installed in the initial phase of the project.

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