Final piece of AEP Okla. wind farm complex starts commercial operations

The 998-MW Traverse Wind Energy Center (North Central Energy Facilities) has started commercial operations, project developers Invenergy LLC and General Electric Co. unit GE Renewable Energy announced March 21.

Traverse is the third and largest wind farm that comprises the 1,484-MW North Central Energy Facilities project. The 199-MW Sundance Wind Project (North Central Energy Facilities) in Woods County, Okla., started commercial operations in April 2021 and the 287-MW Maverick Wind Project (North Central Energy Facilities) in Kingfisher County, Okla., began commercial operations in September 2021. The three wind farms have 531 wind turbines from General Electric.

The wind farms were sold to American Electric Power Co. Inc. utilities Southwestern Electric Power Co. and Public Service Co. of Oklahoma at completion. The two utilities were granted permission by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to acquire the wind farms in February 2020.

Invenergy subsidiary Invenergy Services will provide operations and maintenance, balance of plant, energy management and asset management services under a 10-year agreement, the company said in its news release.

Traverse is expected to generate 3.8 million MWh annually for SWEPCO and Public Service Co. of Oklahoma customers in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, AEP said in a separate March 21 news release. AEP noted that the three wind facilities represent a $2 billion investment and will save customers an estimated $3 billion in electricity costs over the next 30 years.

"AEP is investing $8.2 billion in regulated renewables and nearly $25 billion in the transmission and distribution systems through 2026 to modernize the grid, enhance reliability and resilience and deliver more emissions-free energy to our customers," AEP Chairman, President and CEO Nicholas Akins said in the company's news release. "Including North Central, we plan to add approximately 16,000 MW of wind and solar in our regulated states by 2030 as part of our goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050."

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