Meadow Lake Wind Farm

Meadow Lake Wind Farm is an 801.25 megawatt (MW) wind farm near Brookston and Chalmers, Indiana, spreading over portions of White, Jasper, and Benton Counties. It is owned and operated by EDP Renewables North America.[1] The facility currently has six operational phases, with 414 turbines, and is a prominent feature on both sides of Interstate 65 in western Indiana.[2]

Meadow Lake Wind Farm
Location of Meadow Lake Wind Farm in Indiana
CountryUnited States
LocationChalmers, Indiana
Coordinates40°36′4″N 86°51′57″W
StatusOperational
Commission date2009
Owner(s)EDP Renewables North America
Operator(s)
Wind farm
TypeOnshore
Power generation
Units operational414 turbines
Nameplate capacity801 MW
Capacity factor25.5% (average 2011-2018)
Annual net outputapprox. 1,900 GW·h
External links
Websitemeadowlakewindfarm.com
CommonsRelated media on Commons

Phase I

Phase I consists of 121 Vestas V82-1.65 MW wind turbines, for a total nameplate capacity of 199.65 MW.[3][4] Groundbreaking ceremonies occurred on April 14, 2009.[5] Phase I became operational in October, 2009.[6]

Horizon built a substation next to an existing AEP substation which was already within the wind farm site area. This allowed the wind farm to connect to the power grid without the need to build lengthy new transmission line at a cost of $1 million per mile.[1]

Phase II

Meadow Lake II Wind Farm has an installed capacity of 99 MW – enough to power approximately 27,000 average Indiana homes with clean energy each year. The wind farm, which consists of 66 Acciona AWs-1.5 MW turbines, achieved commercial operation in June 2010.[4]

Phase III

Meadow Lake III Wind Farm has an installed capacity of 103.5 MW – enough to power approximately 28,000 average Indiana homes with clean energy each year. The wind farm, which consists of 69 GE Energy SLE-1.5 MW turbines, achieved commercial operation in October 2010.[4]

Phase IV

Meadow Lake IV Wind Farm has an installed capacity of 98.7 MW – enough to power approximately 27,000 average Indiana homes with clean energy each year. The wind farm, which achieved commercial operation in October 2010, consists of 47 Suzlon S88-2.1 MW turbines.[4]

Phases V and VI

Meadow Lake V and VI have installed capacities of 100 MW and 200.4 MW, respectively. Phase V came fully online in 2018 and consists of 50 Vestas V110-2.0 MW turbines.[7] Phase VI will come fully online in 2019 and consist of 61 turbines (12 Vestas V110-2.0 MW wind turbines and 49 Vestas V136-3.6 MW) that will include some of the tallest and most powerful in the state.[3][8]

Future expansion

In early 2010, an EDP Renewables representative and local renewable energy advocates scouted the Meadow Lake project area for a location to build a visitor center. One possibility was an unused building near the intersection of I-65 and US-231 (40.667692°N 87.04073°W / 40.667692; -87.04073), near where a wind turbine will be installed within the next year.[1]

Environmental impact

At a planned ultimate nameplate capacity of 1000 MW, EDP Renewables North America claims that Meadow Lake would be one of the largest wind farms in the world. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that such facilities would generate enough electricity to power about 250,000 homes,[5] annually saving 1,684 million gallons of water and eliminating 3.1 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.[9] Horizon further estimates that Phases I and II should eliminate just under one million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.[6]

Phase I spreads over 26,000 acres (110 km2) a ten by six mile area since large wind turbines must be spaced at least 5 to 10 rotor diameters apart to avoid wind shadowing. Most of the land between turbines remains productive farmland; only about 250 acres (1.0 km2) of farmland have been taken out of production by the 121 turbines.[1]

Electricity production
Meadow Lake Wind Farm Generation (MW·h)
YearPhase I
199.65 MW [10]		Phase II
99 MW [11]		Phase III
103.5 MW [12]		Phase IV
98.7 MW [13]		Phase V
100 MW [14]		Phase VI
200.4 MW [15]		Total Annual MW·h
2009 133,615*----- 133,615
2010 487,991129,475*96,145*67,139*-- 780,750
2011 471,979257,837262,413221,902-- 1,214,131
2012 466,874249,120257,788214,956-- 1,188,738
2013 477,611180,188183,092143,785-- 984,676
2014 495,416161,358170,177134,214-- 961,165
2015 512,009222,262238,493188,468-- 1,161,232
2016 467,962248,764266,678206,549-- 1,189,953
2017 445,549252,547246,972193,258134,859*- 1,237,185
2018 446,822235,645243,320192,074322,90948,566* 1,489,336
Average Annual Production (phases 1–4, years 2011-2018) --->1,119,510
Average Capacity Factor (phases 1–4, years 2011-2018) --->25.5%

(*) partial year of operation

See also

References
  1. Richards, Rick A. (2010-03-03). "Wind farms are changing Indiana's rural landscape". Farm World. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
  2. "Indiana State Fact Sheet" (PDF). meadowlakewindfarm.com. February 2018.
  3. "Meadow Lake Wind Farm - Official website". Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  4. Horizon Wind Energy. "What we have done". Archived from the original on 2010-01-09.
  5. Showalter, Max (2009-04-15). "Groundbreaking held for ambitious White County wind farm". Lafayette Journal & Courier. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
  6. Krizen, Julie (2009-10-23). "New wind farm operating in White County; Meadow Lake Wind Farm phase I complete". WLFI-TV. Archived from the original on 2009-10-27. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
  7. "Meadow Lake V". thewindpower.net. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  8. "Meadow Lake VI began sending power to the grid this week". cummins.com. December 20, 2018.
  9. Lantz, Eric; Tegen, Suzanne (May 2008). "Economic Benefits, Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions Reductions, and Water Conservation Benefits from 1,000 Megawatts (MW) of New Wind Power in Indiana" (PDF). EERE, NREL. Archived from the original (PDF, 503kB) on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
  10. "Meadow Lake (I), Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  11. "Meadow Lake II, Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  12. "Meadow Lake III, Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  13. "Meadow Lake IV, Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  14. "Meadow Lake V, Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  15. "Meadow Lake VI, Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
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