COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- American
Electric Power's (Nasdaq: AEP) 199-megawatt (MW) Sundance Wind
Energy Center in north central Oklahoma has begun commercial operation.
Located in Woods County, Sundance
is one of three wind projects that compose the North Central Energy
Facilities, which will provide 1,485 MW of clean energy to
customers of AEP's Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) and Southwestern Electric Power
Company (SWEPCO) subsidiaries.
Invenergy is developing the North Central Energy Facilities, and
PSO and SWEPCO will assume ownership of each of the three wind
projects following their commercial operation.
The other facilities, Maverick (287 MW) and Traverse (999 MW),
are expected to begin operating later this year and in early 2022,
respectively. In total, the projects will generate enough energy to
power 440,000 homes.
"The completion of Sundance is a milestone for AEP and our
customers as we continue to build a clean energy future," said
Nicholas K. Akins, AEP chairman,
president and chief executive officer. "North Central will ensure
we can provide clean, reliable energy to our customers in
Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma, while also saving them an estimated
$3 billion in electricity costs over
the next 30 years. We continue to transform AEP's generation fleet
with investments in new wind and solar and modernize the grid to
support the integration of more renewable resources and new
technologies."
The combined North Central wind projects represent a
$2 billion investment in the U.S.
economy through jobs in manufacturing, construction, operations and
maintenance, in addition to generating property tax revenue and
lease payments for landowners.
American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is focused on building a
smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and
custom energy solutions to our customers. AEP's approximately
16,800 employees operate and maintain the nation's largest
electricity transmission system and more than 223,000 miles of
distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to
nearly 5.5 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is
one of the nation's largest electricity producers with
approximately 30,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity,
including more than 5,500 megawatts of renewable energy. AEP's
family of companies includes utilities AEP Ohio, AEP Texas,
Appalachian Power (in Virginia and
West Virginia), AEP Appalachian
Power (in Tennessee), Indiana
Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of
Oklahoma, and Southwestern
Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana, east Texas and the Texas
Panhandle). AEP also owns AEP Energy, AEP Energy Partners,
AEP OnSite Partners, and AEP Renewables, which provide innovative
competitive energy solutions nationwide. For more information,
visit aep.com.
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SOURCE American Electric Power