BP agrees wind power deal in Colorado

May 20, 2010

Embattled oil company BP has announced that it has secured a power purchase agreement for one of its wind power developments.

The company’s BP Wind division has agreed to supply 250 megawatts of renewable electricity from the Cedar Creek II wind farm in Colorado.

The deal was agreed with the Public Service Company of Colorado, part of Xcel Energy.

The wind farm will be located about 20 miles north of New Raymer in Weld County, east of the existing 300.5MW Cedar Creek I wind farm.

The project will use a combination of GE and Nordex turbines, with construction expected to get underway this summer, subject to permits being approved.

BP Wind said 250 workers would be needed to build the facility, and 12-14 jobs would be created to operate the facility once complete.

Milestone

John Graham, president, BP Wind Energy, said: “Today’s announcement is an important milestone for the landowners, county officials and many others in Weld County who have continued to support this project throughout its development.”

The power deal will help PSCo achieve its Colorado renewable energy portfolio target to source 30% of its electricity from renewables by 2020.

“The project will be one of the largest in Colorado and increases the utilization of a highly desirable wind power resource,” said Tom Imbler, Xcel Energy vice president for commercial operations.

“In addition, the location of this new project will allow us to take advantage of existing transmission lines to deliver clean wind energy to our customers, reducing overall costs.”

BP Wind currently has interest in eight operating wind farms, with a gross generating capacity of 1,200MW.