New Wind Farm, Benefits to Indiana

 Yesterday I made a passing mention to wind farms around Elwood, today Building Indiana published EDP Renewables and Cleveland-Cliffs Sign Agreement for a New 200-MW Wind Farm. The article starts by extolling the benefits of the new wind farm:

EDP Renewables SA (EDPR), through its fully owned subsidiary EDP Renewables North America LLC (EDPR NA), and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF), the largest flat-rolled steel company in North America, have executed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for 180 megawatts (MW) of the 200-MW Headwaters III Wind Farm in Randolph County. Headwaters III, located approximately 70 miles east of Indianapolis along the Ohio border, is anticipated to be operational in 2025 and will annually power the equivalent of more than 54,000 average Indiana homes.

EDPR NA has developed and will construct, own, and operate Headwaters III Wind Farm, which is an extension of the operational 200-MW Headwaters I Wind Farm and the 198-MW Headwaters II Wind Farm in Randolph County. The project will create hundreds of jobs during peak construction and will employ local team members to operate and perform routine maintenance on the wind farm. Additional economic benefits in the form of landowner payments, local government payments, and in increase of money spent at businesses in the vicinity of the project will be disbursed as a result of the wind farm’s entrance into Winchester and projected 30-year lifespan. Headwaters III will save approximately 355 million gallons of water a year, which is the amount of water that would be needed by conventional generation sources to produce the same amount of capacity as the wind farm. The project will produce clean energy while minimizing impacts to wildlife, habitat, and other environmental resources.

I wonder if this is the same with the windmills around Elwood. 

No mention of the local opposition I noted in yesterday's post, but it is a new release. 

I do like how it explains what the amount of megawatts means for consumers:

EDP Renewables is a renewable energy leader in Indiana, with 1,400 MW of installed capacity that generates electricity equivalent to the consumption of more than 372,000 average Indiana homes. The company’s operating renewable energy portfolio comprises six phases of the Meadow Lake Wind Farm (White and Benton Counties), two phases of the Headwaters Wind Farm (Randolph County), and the Riverstart Solar Park (Randolph County). EDPR NA is currently constructing the 202-MW Indiana Crossroads II Wind Farm (White County), which it will own and operate, and is actively building the 200-MW Indiana Crossroads Solar Park, which it will transfer ownership upon the completion of construction. EDPR NA also developed and constructed the the 102-MW Rosewater Wind Farm (White County) and the 302-MW Indiana Crossroads I Wind Farm (White County), both now fully operational and under new ownership. Indiana is a vital market in EDPR NA’s portfolio, and the company continues to seek other development opportunities within the state to further grow its presence and continue to bring more economic benefits to Indiana communities.

Not a silver bullet, but that's a lot of people getting their electricity without burning oil from the Arabs, or coal that will kill us. 

Let's see more of this.

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