Ørsted recently announced it has completed a 230-megawatt (MW) wind farm in Nebraska's Wayne County. Plum Creek consists of 82 wind turbines and is the company's first operational project in the state of Nebraska. Despite COVID-19 challenges, Plum Creek was completed on schedule and brings the company's operational onshore capacity to 1.6 gigawatts (GW).
Ørsted has entered into agreements with several companies to purchase the generated power, including Vail Resorts, The J.M. Smucker Company and the Avery Dennison Corporation. Not only will Plum Creek help these organizations meet their renewable energy targets, but the project will also yield over $3 million in local community benefits annually for the area. Some of the largest beneficiaries are the Norfolk and Windside school districts, along with the emergency services sector, local hospital and community college.
"Thanks to our team working on this project and our dedicated partners for their focus and determination in delivering the project on schedule despite the very challenging circumstances we face today" said Neil O'Donovan, Ørsted senior vice president and COO of Onshore, in the release. "Plum Creek is our first project in SPP (Southwest Power Pool) territory, a market which will play an important part of our ongoing growth in North America. The second project, Willow Creek, financed as a portfolio with Plum Creek, is on schedule for completion later this year."
It delivered Plum Creek while working with a group of leading tax equity providers, equipment suppliers and construction companies, including GE Energy Financial Services and BHE Renewables as tax equity providers, GE Renewables and Blattner Energy.
Vikas Anand, GE Renewable Energy's CEO for Onshore Wind, Americas, said in the release, "GE Renewable Energy is proud to be a part of the Plum Creek wind project, working together to deliver, install and commission 82 units during this unprecedented time. Our high-tech 2.8-127 turbines are ideal for this region and will help to bring clean, affordable renewable energy to Ørsted's customers now and well into the future. We are very pleased to continue to build upon our long-standing partnership with the Ørsted onshore team and their predecessor Lincoln Clean Energy to bring more than 2.5GW of onshore wind into operation by the end of 2020."