Vestas Wind Systems A/S (OMX:VWS) has secured orders for wind turbines reaching 392 megawatts’ worth of capacity that will be used in two wind farms in the United States and Canada.
Vestas said it will supply 139 units of its 1.8-MW wind turbine for the 250-MW Cedar Point wind energy project of Broomfield, Colorado-based RES Americas Inc. The wind farm is located in the counties of Lincoln, Elbert and Arapahoe in Colorado.
Vestas also received an order for 79 units of similar turbines from Capital Power Corporation, which is building the 142-MW Quality wind project located about 10 kilometers northeast of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. The project is anticipated to go online early in 2013.
RES Americas will connect Cedar Point to the local grid using a 42-mile transmission line. The company has signed a deal with the Public Service Company of Colorado to sell the wind farm’s electricity at a fixed price.
RES, which develops, builds, owns and manages projects across the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, said the wind project will generate approximately 875,000 megawatt-hours of electricity while offsetting about 710,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year. The project is slated for commercial operations in 2011.
“Cedar Point Wind will benefit Colorado in two ways – by supplying clean energy to Colorado homes under a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Public Service Company of Colorado and by providing employment in the form of up to 200 new construction jobs with more jobs to follow once construction is complete,” claims Martha Wyrsch, president of Vestas Americas.
In Canada, Capital Power (TSX:
CPX
), an independent power producer based in Edmonton, Alberta, has stipulated in its deal with Vestas an option for additional wind turbines worth 375 MW for two other wind projects in Ontario.
Its 105-MW Port Dover and Nanticoke wind project will use 58 wind turbines while its 270-MW Kingsbridge II project will comprise 150 turbines. Capital Power said Vestas could deliver 287 turbines to it under all the agreements.
“These turbine agreements with Vestas represent a significant milestone as the majority of the capital costs for the projects are now fixed, providing cost certainty and capitalizing on economies of scale,” said Brian Vaasjo, president and chief executive officer of Capital Power.
