Electric Cooperatives Of Arkansas Enters Wind Power Pact
by January 3, 2013 9:58 pm 86 views
The Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Corp. (AECC) announced an agreement with a Kansas wind farm to purchase wind energy for its Arkansas customers.
The Kansas-based Flat Ridge 2 Wind Farm — a four-county 66,000-acre site — is the largest, single-build wind farm in the history of the U.S. wind industry. The contract is the first wind energy venture for AECC.
The announced agreement will provide energy to customers in Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri through long-term power purchase agreements with AECC, Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc., and Southwestern Electric Power Company, a unit of American Electric Power. The wind capacity purchased by AECC is part of about 470 watts of potential generation provided by the farm’s 294 wind turbines.
“AECC is committed to providing 500,000 electric cooperative members with reliable, reasonably priced energy,” said Duane Highley, president and CEO of the Electric Cooperatives. “The wind power commitment continues AECC’s long-term strategy to support feasible and reasonable renewable energy options, like the cooperative’s three run-of-the-river hydroelectric generation stations located along the Arkansas River. The wind capacity will provide cooperative members with access to affordable renewable power for many years.”
The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas comprise 17 electric distribution cooperatives; Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc. (AECI), a Little Rock-based cooperative that provides various services to the distribution cooperatives; and AECC, a generation and transmission cooperative.