American Electric Power Seeks to add 1500 MW Wind Capacity in Oklahoma

American Electric Power has announced that its PSO and SWEPCO companies are seeking approvals to purchase 3 wind projects under development in Oklahoma

American Electric Power, a major investor-owned electric utility has 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.

The 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.

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.