With the Reading facility now starting operations, Southern Power's wind portfolio is now more than 2.1GW
Southern Power commissions 200MW wind farm in Kansas. (Credit: Southern Company.)
Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, announced that it has brought the 200MW Reading wind farm in Kansas, into operations.
Located in the Osage and Lyon Counties, the Reading wind farm is powered by 62 of Siemens Gamesa turbines. The Spanish turbine-maker has also agreed to provide annual maintenance service under the 20-year long term program (LTP).
Southern Power will perform the balance of onsite plant operations and maintenance. The utility’s Remote Operation Center will be responsible for 24-hour monitoring and responding to Southwest Power Pool operational instruction.
Southern Power president Bill Grantham said: “Reading Wind Facility is our first wind project in the state of Kansas, and we are pleased to see this project achieve commercial operation.
“The addition of this facility showcases our commitment to the development of wind energy and is an excellent addition to our growing renewable fleet.”
The utility has entered into a 12-year power purchase agreement with Royal Caribbean Cruises to sell the carbon offsets generated by the Reading wind farm. These offsets have been certified with Verra using the Verified Carbon Standard Programme.
Construction of Reading wind farm created 200 temporary jobs
Southern Power acquired the Reading wind farm in August 2018. Renewable Energy Systems (RES) was selected to develop and construct the facility, where 200 jobs were created during the peak of construction.
Last month, Southern Power had acquired the 56MW Beech Ridge II wind farm from Invenergy.
The facility has 20 of GE Renewable Energy’s wind turbines and it began operations this May. Power generated from the wind farm will be sold under a 12-year PPA.
With the Reading facility now starting operations, Southern Power’s wind portfolio is now more than 2.1GW and they are part of the 4.5GW renewable fleet in the US, including 41 solar and wind facilities which are both under construction and operating.