Enel Green Power, through its US subsidiary Enel Green Power North America Inc. (EGP NA), has started operations at the Rocky Ridge wind farm, located in Kiowa and Washita counties, Oklahoma.
The new wind farm has a total installed capacity of about 150 MW, and is composed of 93 turbines of 1.6 MW each. The fully operating plant will generate over 600 million kWh per year, thus avoiding more than 450 thousand tons of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere annually. The energy generated by the new wind farm will be purchased by the local utility Western Farmers Electric Cooperative.
For both the Rocky Ridge and Caney River wind farms, EGP NA reached a tax equity partnership agreement – worth about 340 million US dollars – with a syndicate led by JP Morgan. The partnership was announced last January.
“With Rocky Ridge, Enel Green Power continues its solid growth in the United States, which has one of the most open and competitive markets in the world,” stated Enel Green Power CEO Francesco Starace. “Such an achievement demonstrates our consolidated capacity to execute important investments quickly and with satisfactory returns.”
Rocky Ridge spreads over 18,000 acres of land leased from 75 owners. The wind farm created some 150 jobs during construction, and now that it is fully operational, about 10 for plant management and maintenance.