Construction on wind power farm in Nebraska begins

Edison Mission Group (EMG), a subsidiary of Edison International (NYSE:EIX), and Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) announced today that construction has started on a new wind project capable of producing enough energy to meet the needs of about 14,000 homes in Nebraska.

The Crofton Bluffs wind turbines project is located in Knox County near the towns of Crofton and Bloomfield in northeast Nebraska, approximately 15 miles south of the South Dakota border. The site is adjacent to another EMG facility near Bloomfield, the Elkhorn Ridge wind power project, which was commissioned in 2009.

Crofton Bluffs will be powered by 22 wind turbines capable of generating up to 42 megawatts (MW) of electricity. All of the power produced by the wind farm will be sold to NPPD under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

Crofton Bluffs is EMG’s fourth wind energy project in Nebraska, all of which have contracts with NPPD. "Nebraska has emerged as one of the most important states in EMG’s wind energy portfolio, and Nebraska Public Power District has become one of our biggest wind energy customers," said Pedro Pizarro, president of EMG. “The state offers abundant wind resources and an economic and public policy environment that is supportive and welcoming of clean energy investment. We are pleased to be working again with NPPD to provide environmentally friendly wind power to their customers.”

“The addition of Crofton Bluffs moves NPPD another step closer to our board of directors goal of having 10 percent of our energy resources come from renewable energy,” said NPPD President and CEO Pat Pope. “The energy produced will be shared with other Nebraska utilities as we have done at the Ainsworth and other EMG wind farms.” NPPD is currently working with Omaha Public Power District and other Nebraska utilities as partners in the project.

Construction of Crofton Bluffs is scheduled to be completed by year end. During construction the wind energy project will support about 20 local vendors and contribute about $2.8 million to the state in sales tax revenues.

By José Santamarta, www.edison.com/