The project is expected to generate over $55 million in new local tax revenue for schools and public services, along with over $41 million in payments to landowners, over its lifetime. Construction will involve over 300 construction jobs, and the site will employ around 15 permanent positions. Operations are expected to begin by the end of 2022.

“With another Oklahoma wind farm on the way, we’re increasing our focus on developing a strong clean-energy workforce,” said Paolo Romanacci, head of Enel Green Power in the United States and Canada. “Our process is straightforward: invest in STEM education to inspire students to join our industry, execute on our ambitious growth strategy to create new skilled jobs and train new hires in-house to equip them for our open positions in Oklahoma and beyond.”

Enel’s new office space will include classrooms and state-of-the-art simulation facilities for working inside wind turbines. Courses will include topics on safety, professional development, working at heights, ladder rescues, turbine repair and troubleshooting. Trainees will learn in multiple settings including classroom discussion, hands-on simulation and virtual reality.

New wind workers supporting Enel’s entire U.S. wind fleet will simulate the experience of climbing and maintaining a wind turbine with trainings held year-round inside an office space that also can support up to 25 office-based employees.

News item from Enel Green Power North America

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The aggregation deal, a model that lets companies with smaller and more distributed energy needs to combine their renewable energy demand to collaboratively purchase renewable energy, is among the largest aggregation deals in the world.

“This aggregation deal demonstrates an extraordinary shift in the renewable energy purchasing market to give businesses with modest energy demand, but ambitious renewable energy goals, the opportunity to procure renewable energy in a cost-effective way,” said Georgios Papadimitriou, Head of Enel Green Power in the United States and Canada. “As more companies of all sizes look to power their operations with clean energy, Enel is uniquely positioned to enable that transition, by creating customized solutions to meet the energy needs of all buyers.”

MilliporeSigma, the life science business of Merck KGaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, will purchase the energy generated by a 68 MW portion of the Azure Sky wind project to help the company towards its goal of climate neutrality by 2040.

“To reach our goal of becoming climate neutral by 2040, accessing renewable energy programs like the Azure Sky Wind Project will be critical to MilliporeSigma and so many companies as they put into action environmentally conscious strategies and policies,” said Chris Ross, Interim CEO, MilliporeSigma.

Akamai, a platform for securing and delivering digital experiences plans to purchase an 18-MW portion of the project to support the company’s commitment to run its network as efficiently as possible, to be mindful of its power usage and to minimize the negative environmental impacts of its global operations.

“Akamai has led the way in innovative renewable energy projects since 2018, when we were a part of the United States’ first corporate aggregated virtual power purchase agreement — a game-changing approach for smaller renewable energy buyers. Today we are proud to continue that legacy by participating in the largest aggregation to date,” said Mike Mattera, director, Corporate Sustainability, Akamai Technologies.

Synopsys works in chip design, verification, IP integration and software security and quality testing. The company will purchase a 15-MW portion of the project to support its ambitious emissions reduction goal.

“This landmark virtual power purchase agreement is instrumental to Synopsys’ ability to deliver on its greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 25% by 2024,” said Barbara Donaldson, senior VP of workplace resources at Synopsys. “The 15 MW of wind generation capacity will help Synopsys mitigate approximately 70% of our projected North American emissions, leading to new renewable energy on the grid and displacing fossil fuels.”

Uber will purchase a 10 MW portion of the Azure Sky wind + storage project helping the company progress towards its global commitment to becoming a zero-emission mobility platform by 2040. This project helps Uber achieve its pledge to match all of its US offices with 100% renewable electricity by 2025 while expanding to data centers and global locations by 2030.

“As the largest mobility platform in the world, we know that our impact goes beyond our technology. We want to do our part to build back better and support a green recovery to our cities and communities,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber.

The wind energy purchased by the four companies is expected to generate around 430,000 MWh each year, equivalent to the electricity used by approximately 40,000 average U.S. homes annually.

Located west of the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Throckmorton County, Texas, the Azure Sky wind + storage project includes a 350 MW wind project paired with approximately 137 MW of battery storage and is expected to be operational in the first half of 2022. In addition to the four companies under the aggregation deal, Enel will also sell the electricity produced by a 100-MW portion of the Azure wind project to Kellogg Company.

News item from Enel Green Power North America

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“As one of the largest renewable power producers in North America, Enel Green Power is committed to excellence in not only developing and constructing new projects but also strategically expanding our existing fleet,” said Antonio Cammisecra, CEO of Enel Green Power. “The expansion of Cimarron Bend is a testament to both the maturity of our wind operations and our commitment to growing a portfolio of state-of-the-art renewable plants that will generate value for many years to come, while providing sustainable energy.”

Cimarron Bend wind farm kansas

Cimarron Bend’s first two phases entered into service in 2016 and 2017, involving an overall investment of over $891 million. Upon completion of the 199-MW addition, Cimarron Bend will generate a total of more than 2.7 TWh per year.

The electricity from a 150-MW portion of the expansion is being sold under a 15-year bundled power purchase agreement (PPA) with electric services company Evergy. The PPA will include support for Evergy’s Renewables Direct program, which allows commercial and industrial customers to offset a percentage of their energy usage through renewable sources. In January, Evergy committed to reducing carbon emissions by 80% below 2005 levels by 2050.

“As we continue implementing more renewable energy into our overall generation mix, Evergy is pleased to partner with Enel on this expansion project to add to our total wind capacity,” said Kevin Brannan, manager of products and solutions, Renewable Sources, Evergy. “This helps us reduce carbon emissions and increases our wind energy levels, which leads us toward more sustainable operations and ultimately benefits our customers.”

A Missouri Public Utility Alliance (MPUA) joint action agency, the Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission (MJMEUC), which supplies municipal power for more than 60 communities in Missouri and Arkansas, will purchase a 30-MW output portion of the project under a 12-year bundled PPA.

“Adding wind power from Cimarron Bend to our power portfolio provides our member utilities more energy price stability and lower costs,” said Ewell Lawson, MPUA VP for external affairs. “It will boost the diversity of the energy sources supplying 35 of our community-owned member systems, adding an additional 50% to their renewable portfolio.”

The power and renewable energy credits from the original 400-MW portion of Cimarron Bend are sold under bundled, long-term PPAs with Google and the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (BPU).

Enel Green Power is closely following the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and is responding to protect the health of its workers and the community where it operates. In North America, the company has enacted strict travel guidelines, stepped up office and project site sanitation and implemented ways for office employees to conduct their jobs remotely and follow safe working practices if and when on-site.

At the Cimarron Bend site, crews are implementing safe working practices and operations have been structured to maintain social distancing as well as other best practices. Furthermore, as part of its $1.3 million commitment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States and Canada, the company dedicated $69,000 to food security organizations and first responders in Kansas.

News item from Enel Green Power

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