Duke Energy Corporation (Duke Energy), a US based supplier of electricity, is planning to build a 66-turbine wind power project near Casper, Wyoming, remains on schedule to commence construction in spring 2009. The Wyoming Industrial Siting Council voted in favor of the company's application for a permit to build the Campbell Hill wind power project on March 5, 2009. The Campbell Hill project will produce 99 megawatts (MW) of clean, renewable energy when it comes on line at the end of the year.
Under the Wyoming Industrial Development Information and Siting Act, consents are required of all projects with construction costs of $178.9 million or more.
Duke Energy anticipates receiving the permit to build the Campbell Hill project from the state in April, after which construction will begin.
PacifiCorp, which operates as Rocky Mountain Power in Wyoming, will buy all of the power from the project as part of a 20-year agreement announced in September 2008. Wind turbines at the Campbell Hill site will be capable of producing power for about 25,000 to 30,000 homes annually.
The Campbell Hill Windpower Project will be good for the state, good for the regional economy and good for the environment, said Wouter van Kempen, president of Duke Energy Generation Services (DEGS), a business unit of Duke Energy that owns and develops renewable energy assets. Our collaboration with state officials and other key stakeholders is paving the way to bring more renewable energy to Wyoming.
This will be Duke Energy’s second wind power project in Wyoming. The 14-turbine, 29-MW Happy Jack Windpower Project near Cheyenne began commercial operation in September 2008. It generates clean energy for Cheyenne Light Fuel & Power customers in Laramie County.
By April 2009, Duke Energy will have more than 500 MW of wind power in operation and another 5,000 MW in development in 14 US states.