American Electric Power announced that its Public Service Co. of Oklahoma (PSO) and Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) companies are seeking regulatory approvals to purchase three wind projects, totaling 1,485 megawatts (MW), that are currently under development in Oklahoma. 

The projects include a 999-MW wind facility being built north of Weatherford, a 287-MW wind facility being built southwest of Enid, and a 199-MW facility being built south of Alva. They are being developed by Invenergy. These projects were selected after competitive Request for Proposals (RFPs) to procure low-cost wind generation options for PSO and SWEPCO customers. The 199-MW project is projected to be completed by the end of 2020. The other projects will be completed by the end of 2021. Collectively, the three wind projects would provide more than 5.7 million megawatt-hours of new wind energy annually to serve customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

If approved, total investment in the wind projects would be nearly $2 billion, inclusive of all costs. Adding this generation is expected to save SWEPCO and PSO customers approximately $3 billion, net of cost, over 30 years.

"AEP continues to add clean, renewable generation to our power plant fleet, driven by the expectations of our customers and technology advances. Purchasing these wind facilities is consistent with our strategy of investing in the energy resources of the future, and it will save our customers money while providing significant economic benefits to local communities. This renewable generation will enable us to provide our PSO and SWEPCO customers with the affordable, reliable and clean power they have said they want," said Nicholas K. Akins, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer. 

If approved as proposed, SWEPCO would own 810 MW of wind generation, approximately 55% of the projects. PSO would own 675 MW of wind generation, approximately 45% of the projects. The projects are subject to regulatory approvals in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, as well as from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The amount of generation acquired by PSO or SWEPCO can be scaled, subject to commercial limitations, to align with individual state resource needs as determined by the respective state commissions. 

In addition to these projects, AEP recently added 724 MW of wind and battery generation to its contracted competitive portfolio and has proposed adding more than 9,100 MW of new wind and solar generation and nearly 2,300 MW of new natural gas generation to its regulated power plant fleet by 2030 to diversify its power production portfolio. AEP already has cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 59% since 2000.

American Electric Power | http://www.aep.com