Sale of 150 MW Wind Power Project Completed

Charlottesville, Virginia [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Wind power company Greenlight Energy announced the sale of the Elk River Windfarm project in Butler County, Kansas. PPM Energy agreed to purchase Greenlight Energy’s subsidiary Elk River Windfarm, and will own and operate the 150 MW wind energy facility.

Greenlight, which began development of the project in 2002, also negotiated a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Empire District Electric Company to purchase the energy generated from the wind farm. Elk River will produce enough clean-energy to meet the annual needs of about 42,000 homes. “A project of this size demonstrates the important role wind energy plays in helping secure a clean and renewable energy supply for our country,” said Matt Hantzmon, Managing Director of Greenlight Energy. “Wind energy is cost-effective, clean, and does not consume water-an important issue in many parts of the country.” PPM Energy, which has a goal of bringing 2,300 MW of new wind power to market by 2010, said this was its first project in Kansas — a state with the third highest wind potential in the nation. The Elk River Project is the third PPM has announced so far that is expected to go into operation in 2005. The Elk River project development team included HMH Energy Resources, as project co-developer, and Babcock & Brown, as project financial advisor. With the continued improvements in wind generation technology and Congress’ decision to extend a federal tax credit for wind energy production, 2005 is expected to be a record year of wind development, according to the American Wind Energy Association. The association expects more than 2,500 megawatts of generating capacity will be added in 2005, representing a $2 billion investment.