Wind Energy

Acciona starts work on its third wind farm in Oklahoma

The Spanish conglomerate Acciona SA has started building its third Oklahoma wind farm. The 132-megawatt Dempsey Ridge wind energy project in Roger Mills County will take one year to complete.

The wind energy project, which will include 66 2.0-MW wind turbines, could generate power for about 46,000 homes and up to $20 million a year in tax revenue for the county.

"Oklahoma is a state that understands energy and has embraced wind as plentiful and lucrative resource for the future," Dan Foley, the chief development officer for Acciona Energy North America, said in a statement.

Dempsey Ridge is within 15 miles of Acciona’s 123-MW Red Hills wind farm. Acciona operates nearly 500 megawatts of wind power capacity throughout the U.S.

Oklahoma is one of the country’s largest generators of wind energy, with 1,130 megawatts of capacity expected to be available by the end of this year, federal data show. The state had only 176 megawatts of wind power eight years ago.

Acciona Energy has selected M.A. Mortensen to lead the construction of the Dempsey Ridge Wind Farm. Mortensen built Acciona´s Red Hills Wind Farm and has deep expertise in wind farm construction and Roger Mills County.

Acciona Energy currently operates 489.6 MW of wind power capacity in the U.S. in five wind farms, four of them 100 percent owned. These include Tatanka Wind Farm (180 MW, North and South Dakota), Velva Wind Farm (11.8 MW, North Dakota), EcoGrove Wind Farm (100.5 MW, Illinois) and Red Hills Wind Farm. The company also has a stake in the Blue Canyon Wind Farm (74.25 MW) in Oklahoma.

Acciona Energy is a global clean-tech operator backed by more than 20 years of experience and a leading presence in seven renewables technologies. It has installed more than 9,000 MW of electricity generation in 14 countries: 7,469 MW are proprietary. The Company has 271 wind farms (7,716 MW); 80 hydroelectric power stations (911 MW); a number of concentrated solar energy thermal (CSP) and PV plants that rank among the biggest in the world, and biomass-fired power plants.

Acciona Energy manufactures wind turbines and has biodiesel and bioethanol production units. The Company, which develops proprietary projects as well as projects for clients, is to be found across the entire value chain, produces and markets renewables-based energy and delivers a broad range of services for clients within this sector, as part of a staunch commitment to innovation.

www.acciona-na.com