Developers start operating 998-MW Oklahoma wind project; part of 1,484-MW complex

Developer Invenergy and GE Renewable Energy said March 21 that commercial operations had begun for the 998-MW Traverse Wind Energy Center in Oklahoma, the largest wind farm constructed in a single phase in North America, according to the companies.

Traverse is the largest of three wind power projects known at the North Central Energy Facilities that have a combined capacity of 1,484 MW powered by 531 GW wind turbines, according to a statement.

The Traverse project is located in north-central Oklahoma and will be added to the already operational 199-MW Sundance Wind Energy Center and the 287-MW Maverick Wind Energy Center, as the last of three projects developed by Invenergy for investor-owned utility American Electric Power, Invenergy said in the statement.

The North Central Energy Facilities cost $2 billion in capital investment and will generate enough electricity to power 440,000 homes.

AEP's subsidiaries Southwestern Electric Power Company and Public Service Company of Oklahoma took ownership of the three wind farms upon start of commercial operations to serve their customers in Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma, the statement said.

"Wind power is a key element of driving decarbonization, and a dependable and affordable energy option here in the US and around the world," said Steve Swift, global commercial leader for GE's onshore wind business, in the statement.

Said Jim Shield, senior executive vice president and development business leader at Invenergy: "With the completion of Traverse and with it the North Central Energy Facilities, we're proud to further our commitment to responsible, clean energy development and to advance our mission to build a sustainable world,"

Energy transition

Oklahoma is part of the Southwest Power Pool which is undergoing a shift in power generation away from fossil fuel-fired resources to renewable energy resources.

SPP's 2020 power generation by fuel type consisted of 31.32% wind power, 30.88% coal, 26.61% natural gas, 6.4% hydropower and 0.22% solar power, according to the power pool.

However, solar power dominated the generator interconnection requests under study as of July 2021, accounting for 41.3% of the total, according to SPP. Wind accounted for 30.8%, storage for 12.5%, gas/thermal for 12.5% and hybrid renewable projects with storage accounted for 2.9% of SPP interconnection requests.

Additionally, AEP which described itself as a "pure-play regulated utility" in a recent investor presentation, owns 25 GW of power generation with operations in 11 states, including extensive territory in Oklahoma.

One of the key themes it highlighted to investors was its power generation mix transformation. AEP has set a target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80% by 2030 and to have net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

AEP also projects a 47% reduction in coal capacity as a percent of total power generation capacity by 2030.

AEP said it aims to reduce coal generation by approximately 5,300 MW from 2022 to 2028 and decrease coal net book value through retirements and depreciation, which "creates opportunities to own replacement wind, solar and natural gas resources," according to the presentation.

The North Central Wind projects are seen as the foundation for AEP's "regulated renewables platform," and it expects to have a 16 GW "regulated renewable opportunity" by 2030 and is committed to transforming its power generating fleet to approximately 50% renewables by 2030.

From 2022 to 2030, AEP told investors it plans to add 8,552 MW of wind power generation capacity along with 6,629 MW of solar power capacity across its utility subsidiaries.