Rome, October 20th, 2010 - Enel Green Power (EGP) and its development partner TradeWind Energy have announced that the Caney River Wind Project has entered into an agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for the purchase of the annual output of the proposed 200MW wind farm to be built and operated by EGP in Elk County, Kansas, about 100 miles southeast of the City of Wichita.
Enel Green Power that operates in the USA through its subsidiary Enel North America Inc. ( ENA), has an agreement to purchase the project from the Lenaxa, Kansas-based TradeWind.
The TVA, a corporation owned by the United States government, provides electricity for utilities and business customers in most of Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia an area of 80,000 square miles with a population of 9 million.
The TVA will be ENAs largest customer to date in North America.
This agreement is a significant milestone for us in North America, said Francesco Starace, Chief Executive Officer of Enel Green Power. We are proud to work with the TVA on the Caney River Wind Project and to provide clean, renewable energy to the equivalent of 60,000 homes in the south-eastern United States.
TradeWind and ENA plan to erect wind turbines on nearly 14,000 acres in west central Elk County. More than 200 workers will be employed during the construction phase. The entire project is expected to cost about 350 million US dollars (250 million euros) and its anticipated that the facility will begin commercial operation in 2011.
Additionally, in an effort to promote wildlife and grassland conservation throughout the State of Kansas, the Caney River Project has also entered into a conservation plan with the National Fish and Wildlife Federation to preserve ecologically important areas and encourage research into new ways to protect the environment in Kansas.
About Enel Green Power
Enel Green Power is the Enel Group company dedicated to renewable energy with a presence in Europe, North America and Latin America. It is one of the global leaders in its industry with a total installed capacity of around 5,800 MW and more than 600 plants in operation in 16 countries. The company and its subsidiaries produced 21 billion kWh of energy from water, sun, wind, geothermal and biomass in 2009.