Enel S.p.A. subsidiary Enel Green Power North America (EGPNA) has started construction of the Chisholm View II wind project in Oklahoma, which is an expansion of the existing 235-MW Chisholm View facility and once completed will bring the site’s total installed capacity to 300 MW.
Construction of the Chisholm View II wind farm will require an overall investment of about $90m (U.S.), Enel said in a July 12 news release.
“With the construction of Chisholm View II, EGPNA is further reinforcing its rapid growth strategy in the United States,” said Rafael Gonzalez, Head of Enel Green Power North America.
“The new plant is part of our ongoing commitment to expand our operations in North America where we continue to reach new milestones, including a record 800 MW currently under construction,” Gonzalez said. “This is an unprecedented level of growth for EGPNA which further strengthens our positioning as one of the leading renewable energy companies in the United States,” Gonzalez said.
Chisholm View Wind Project II, LLC, which is owned by EGPNA subsidiary Enel Kansas, LLC, will be able to generate over 240 million kWh annually – equivalent to the energy consumption needs of over 19,000 U.S. households – while avoiding the emission of over 126,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year, the company said.
The project is expected to be online by the end of 2016.
All of the power and renewable energy credits from Chisholm View II will be sold under a bundled, long-term power purchase agreement (PPA).
Chisholm View II will be EGPNA’s second wind project to start construction in Oklahoma in 2016 and follows the 108 MW Drift Sand wind farm in Grady County, which began construction in January.
Currently EGPNA owns and operates another six wind facilities in Oklahoma that have a total installed capacity of more than 950 MW.
EGPNA is present in 22 US states and two Canadian provinces with more than 2.5 GW of installed capacity spread across four different renewable energy technologies: wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower.
In 2015, EGP-NA brought online more wind capacity in Oklahoma than any other company, commissioning more than 420 MW of new capacity in one year, Enel said. Once complete, Chisholm View II will be EGP-NA’s eighth wind facility in OK. EGP-NA is the second largest owner and operator in Oklahoma and to date, has invested nearly $1.8bn in the state.
