By Russell Gold 

American Electric Power Co. said Wednesday that it will spend $4.5 billion to develop the one of the largest wind farms in the U.S. and a related 350-mile transmission line.

When complete, the wind farm with a projected capacity of 2,000 megawatts is set to be among the largest purchases of renewable energy by a utility company.

The company said it had a deal with Invenergy, a privately held firm based in Chicago that had been developing the wind farm, to purchase the project. It will be located in the Oklahoma panhandle.

It will also build a 350-mile dedicated transmission line to take the power from the remote panhandle to Tulsa, where the electricity will be distributed and serve homes and businesses in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

AEP spokeswoman Melissa McHenry says the power from the wind farm is the least expensive option.

"It is cheaper for the customers in that area for us to add this project as opposed to other generation," she said.

Write to Russell Gold at russell.gold@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 26, 2017 17:49 ET (21:49 GMT)

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