Grande Prairie Wind Farm

The Grande Prairie Wind Farm is a 400 megawatt (MW) wind farm spanning northeastern Holt County in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It increased wind generating capacity in the state by 50% to become the largest such facility upon its completion in late 2016. It is owned and operated by Berkshire Hathaway Energy and the power is being sold to the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).[1][2][3]

Grande Prairie Wind Farm
Official nameGrande Prairie Wind Farm
CountryUnited States
LocationHolt County, Nebraska
Coordinates42°36′29″N 98°25′42″W
Construction beganAugust 2015
Commission dateDecember 2016
Owner(s)Allianz,
BHE Renewables
Wind farm
TypeOnshore
Power generation
Units operational200 turbines
Make and modelVestas V110-2.0 MW
Nameplate capacity400 MW
Capacity factor43.5% (average 2017–2018)
Annual net output1,524 GW·h

Details

The facility spans about 45,000 acres of farm and grazing land in the north central region of the state near the city of O'Neill. It includes 200 Vestas V110-2.0 MW wind turbines for which most components were manufactured in Colorado.[4] Many turbines are located in the corners of the irrigated crop circles to minimize the impact to agricultural production.[3] The annual lease payments to the participating landowners total more than $2 million, and about 25 people are employed in ongoing operations and maintenance activities.[2]

Mortenson Construction built the facility from August 2015 to December 2016, employing about 350 workers. In addition to erection of the turbines, new infrastructure included access roadways, turbine foundations, electrical collection and transmission lines, and two high-voltage substations.[5]

The project was initiated in 2008 by Midwest Wind Energy Development Group, eventually completing much of the planning and approval work.[6] Developer Geronimo Energy purchased the project in 2013, and secured the initial PPA with OPPD.[7] BHE Renewables then purchased the project in early 2015, and announced that it would finance construction.[1][8] Allianz Global Investors announced it was taking a $400 million interest in the project at the time of its completion.[9]

Electricity production data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that the facility operated at an average 43.5% capacity factor during its first two years of operation.[10]

Electricity production
Grande Prairie Wind Farm Electricity Generation (MW·h)[10]
YearTotal Annual MW·h
2016 168,466
2017 1,541,058
2018 1,507,208
Average (years 2017–2018) --->1,524,133

See also

References
  1. "BHE Renewables announces plans for the largest wind development in Nebraska". Berkshire Hathaway Energy. April 30, 2015.
  2. Laura King-Homan and Andrew Roger (June 7, 2016). "State's largest wind farm preparing to power OPPD customers". oppdthewire.com.
  3. Wayne Barber (October 24, 2016). "Grande Prairie wind project comes online in Nebraska". Electric Light & Power.
  4. "Grande Prairie Wind Farm". thewindpower.net. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  5. "Grande Prairie Wind Project". mortenson.com. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  6. "Grande Prairie Wind Farm". Geronimo Energy. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  7. "Omaha Public Power District approves 400 MW PPA with Grand Prairie Wind Farm". power-eng.com. October 10, 2013.
  8. "Geronimo Energy Sells Portfolio of Wind and Solar Energy Projects to BHE Renewables". pr.com. May 24, 2015.
  9. Michelle Froese (December 21, 2016). "Allianz invests over $400 million in Nebraska's Grande Prairie Wind Farm". Wind Power Engineering.
  10. "Grande Prairie Wind, Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
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