Benton County Wind Farm

Last updated
Benton County Wind Farm
Benton County Wind Farm 0011.jpg
Benton County Wind Farm
Country United States
Location Earl Park, Indiana
Coordinates 40°41′10″N87°24′32″W / 40.686105°N 87.408772°W / 40.686105; -87.408772 Coordinates: 40°41′10″N87°24′32″W / 40.686105°N 87.408772°W / 40.686105; -87.408772
StatusOperational

The Benton County Wind Farm [1] (also called Goodland I [2] ) consists of 87 [2] model sl/sle Gen4 [3] GE 1.5 MW wind turbines near Earl Park, Indiana in northern Benton County, Indiana. The farm's nameplate capacity is 130.5 MW. The farm was developed by Orion Energy Group, LLC (Oakland, CA) and Vision Energy, LLC (Cincinnati, OH) beginning in 2003. It began commercial operation in April 2008. At the time of its construction, it was Indiana's only commercial-scale wind farm. Duke Energy purchases electricity from the wind farm [2] and sells it to customers through its GoGreen program. [4]

In August 2006, Duke Energy Indiana finalized its agreement to buy the output of 54 of the wind farm's 87 wind turbines for 20 years. [5] This was the first significant long-term wind power purchase agreement in Indiana. The remaining 33 wind turbines in the wind farm sell their electricity to Duke and Vectren. [5]

The owner of the project is Benton County Wind Farm LLC, which is owned by subsidiaries of Orion Energy Group LLC and other investors. The project is managed by Orion Energy Group LLC. [6]

In early 2009, the nearby Fowler Ridge Wind Farm was Indiana's second wind farm to open, and became Indiana's largest wind farm. [2]

Other wind farms developed by Orion and Vision include the Camp Grove Wind Farm and the Fowler Ridge Wind Farm.

See also

Related Research Articles

Benton County, Indiana County in Indiana, United States

Benton County is located in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Indiana, along the border with Illinois. As of 2010, the county's population was 8,854. It contains six incorporated towns as well as several small unincorporated settlements; it is divided into 11 townships which provide local services. The county seat is Fowler.

Wind power in Texas Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

Wind power in Texas, a portion of total energy in Texas, consists of over 150 wind farms, which together have a total nameplate capacity of over 30,000 MW. If Texas were a country, it would rank fifth in the world: The installed wind capacity in Texas exceeds installed wind capacity in all countries but China, the United States, Germany and India. Texas produces the most wind power of any U.S. state. According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), wind power accounted for at least 15.7% of the electricity generated in Texas during 2017, as wind was 17.4% of electricity generated in ERCOT, which manages 90% of Texas's power. ERCOT set a new wind output record of nearly 19.7 GW at 7:19 pm Central Standard Time on Monday, January 21, 2019.

Fowler Ridge Wind Farm Wind farm in Indiana, USA

The Fowler Ridge Wind Farm is a wind farm in Benton County, Indiana, near the city of Fowler, IN about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Lafayette and 90 miles (140 km) northwest of Indianapolis. Fowler Ridge was originally developed in 2005 and 2006 by Orion Energy, LLC and Vision Energy, LLC and later sold in 2007 to BP and Dominion Resources. The project was constructed beginning in 2008 in two phases and has a nameplate capacity of 600 MW.

Wind power in Maine Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

There are a number of wind power projects in the state of Maine, totaling more than 900 megawatts (MW) in capacity and responsible for 13.85% of in-state electricity production in 2017. In 2019, Maine had more wind capacity than the other five New England states combined, at 923 MW.

Twin Groves Wind Farm Wind farm in Illinois, USA

Twin Groves Wind Farm is a wind farm in the U.S. state of Illinois, near the villages of Arrowsmith, Saybrook, and Ellsworth in McLean County. It consists of 240 operating wind turbines. Each wind turbine stands 280 ft (80 m) tall and has three 120-foot-long (39 m) blades. The wind farm was constructed from 2007 to February 2008. Twin Groves was the largest utility-scale wind farm east of the Mississippi River upon completion.

Wind power in Wyoming Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

Wyoming has one of the highest wind power potentials of any state in the United States. As of 2016, Wyoming has 1,489 megawatts (MW) of wind powered electricity generating capacity, responsible for 9.42% of in-state electricity production. Wyoming produced of 3,800 GWh in 2015, about 9% of the total.

The Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm is located in Sterling and Coke counties, Texas. It is a 662.5 MW wind farm, with 342 GE 1.5 MW wind turbines and 65 2.3 MW Siemens turbines that are capable of generating enough electricity for more than 220,000 homes. The wind farm is built, owned and operated by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, the U.S.' largest wind energy generator. The project is part owned by San Antonio-based Sullivan Trillian Fund Private Equity.

Wind power in New Hampshire Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

Wind power in New Hampshire began in 1980, with the installation of the world's first wind farm at Crotched Mountain, consisting of 20 30 kW wind turbines, although it closed decades ago. As of 2020, five wind power projects are operating in the state of New Hampshire – Lempster Mountain, which opened in 2008, Granite Reliable Wind Farm, which opened in late 2011, Groton Wind, which opened in 2012, Jericho Mountain, which opened in 2015, and Antrim Wind, which opened in 2020.

Wind power in Illinois Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

Wind power in Illinois provided nearly 10% of the state's generated electrical power in 2020 powering 1,231,900 homes. At the end of 2020, Illinois had 6,300 megawatts (MW) of wind power installed, ranking fifth among states for installed wind turbine capacity. An additional 1,100 MW of wind power was under construction across the state at the end of 2020.

Wind power in Indiana Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

Wind power in Indiana was limited to a few small water-pumping windmills on farms until 2008 with construction of Indiana's first utility-scale wind power facility, Goodland with a nameplate capacity of 130 MW. As of September 2017, Indiana had a total of 1897 MW of wind power capacity installed, ranking it 12th among U.S. states. Wind power was responsible for 4.8% of in-state electricity production in 2016.

Hoosier Wind Farm is a wind farm in Benton County, Indiana. It consists of 53 REpower 2 MW wind turbines, for a total nameplate capacity of 106 MW. The enXco subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles built the wind farm, with Mortenson Construction's Renewable Energy Group as the subcontractor. Indianapolis Power & Light (IPL) has a 20-year contract to purchase and distribute the wind farm's output.

Meadow Lake Wind Farm Wind farm in Indiana, USA

Meadow Lake Wind Farm is an 801.25 megawatt (MW) wind farm near Brookston and Chalmers, Indiana, spreading over portions of White, Jasper, and Benton Counties. It is owned and operated by EDP Renewables North America. The facility currently has six operational phases, with 414 turbines, and is a prominent feature on both sides of Interstate 65 in western Indiana.

Wind power in Arizona Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

In 2016, Arizona had 268 megawatts (MW) of wind powered electricity generating capacity, producing 0.5% of in-state generated electricity.

The Camp Grove Wind Farm is a 100-turbine wind farm composed of GE 1.5MW 77 meter rotor and with 80 meter hub height wind turbines in Marshall County and Stark County Illinois, north of the city of Peoria. The owner of the project is Camp Grove Wind Farm LLC, which is owned by subsidiaries of Orion Energy Group LLC, Vision Energy, LLC and other investors. The project is managed by Orion Energy Group LLC, and, at 1.5 megawatts per General Electric turbine, has a nameplate capacity of 150 megawatts (mW).

Wind power in Tennessee Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

Wind power in Tennessee, which has significant potential in East Tennessee, is in the early stages of development. As of 2015, the state had not passed renewable portfolio standard legislation and there was one utility-scale wind farm. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), based in Knoxville, imports wind-generated electricity into its service area which includes Tennessee. US Senator Lamar Alexander from Tennessee is an outspoken critic of wind power.

Wind power in Kentucky Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

Wind power in Kentucky has limited potential for development within the state since there are generally low wind speeds, though there are specific locations where it can be effective. As of 2015, the state has not passed renewable portfolio standard legislation and there were no commercial-scale wind turbines. Kentucky may benefit from the development of wind power in Tennessee, an adjoining state with which it is collaborating, and from efforts by the Tennessee Valley Authority to both develop and import wind-generated electricity into the region.

Wind power in Wisconsin Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

Wind power in Wisconsin started in 1990 with the installation of the Lincoln Turbines wind farm, and contributes to the state's renewable portfolio standard established in 1998. In 2016, Wisconsin had a wind generating capacity of 648 megawatts (MW), responsible for generating 2.4% of its electricity. In 2019, this increased to a capacity of 737 MW, and a 2.63% of generation.

Wind power in Arkansas remains nearly untapped. As of 2019, little to none of the state's electricity was produced by wind turbines. As of 2015, Arkansas had not established a renewable portfolio standard. Studies have concluded that while Arkansas is generally considered to have low wind resources, there are significant pockets of it throughout the state.

The Flat Ridge Wind Farm is an electricity generating wind facility spanning the intersection of Barber, Harper and Kingman County in the U.S. state of Kansas, located about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of the city of Wichita. It was constructed in two phases and has a total generating capacity of 570.4 megawatts (MW), becoming the largest such facility in the state upon its completion in 2012.

References

  1. "Benton County Wind Farms". Archived from the original on 2009-06-05. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "U.S. Wind Energy Projects - Indiana". American Wind Energy Association. 2009-03-31. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
  3. "1.5 MW Series Wind Turbine". General Electric. Archived from the original on 2009-07-14. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
  4. "Duke Energy's GoGreen Power". Duke Energy . Retrieved 2009-06-21.[ dead link ]
  5. 1 2 "Benton County Wind Farm Producing Power for Duke Energy". Duke Energy. 2008-04-24. Archived from the original on 2010-01-01. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  6. Archived 2011-11-03 at the Wayback Machine |accessdate=2011-11-10