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Wind power in Arkansas

Import by transmission[edit]

The Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC) purchases electrical power from wind farms outside the state, including^[6] 51MW from Flat Ridge 2 Wind FarminKansas.^[7][8] In 2013 AECC entered a long-term agreement to buy 150 megawatts of wind energy from Oklahoma from the RES Americas-built Origin Wind Farm, which has 75 turbines in Murray County and Carter County, Oklahoma, and came on line at the end of 2014.^[9][10] It was taken over by Enel.^[11]

Wind Catcher project[edit]

In 2018, SWEPCO, an Arkansas utility, faced opposition to its $4.5 billion Wind Catcher project,^[12][13] and indicated that ads opposing the project were being sponsored by an unknown non-profit, "Protect Our Pocketbooks".^[14]

SWEPCO entered a settlement in which it agreed to "provide a number of guarantees, including a cap on construction costs, qualification for 100 percent of the federal Production Tax Credits, [and] minimum annual production from the project."^[15]

The Wind Catcher project involved "acquisition of a 2,000-megawatt wind farm under construction in the Oklahoma Panhandle and construction of a 360-mile dedicated generation tie line to the Tulsa area, where the existing electrical grid ... [would] deliver the wind energy to customers."^[14]

The Wind Catcher Energy Connection project was approved by the Arkansas Public Service Commission and the Louisiana Public Service Commission in 2018.^[16][17]

Existing wind power capacity[edit]

Arkansas is home to one wind energy company, LM Windpower, which builds wind turbine blades at a plant in Little Rock,^[18] and to 12 facilities involved in the wind energy industry, such as PPG Industries and ABB.^[19]

A 100-foot wind turbine near Prairie Grove was the only turbine in the state.^[20]

Potential[edit]

It is estimated that Arkansas could install 9,200 MW of wind generation capacity based on 80 meter hub height turbines. This could potentially generate 26.906 TWh of electricity each year.^[21] In 2015 Arkansas used 46.346 TWh of electricity.^[22] Raising the hub height to 110 meters, though, vastly increases the potential to 180,978 MW, capable of generating over 555 TWh of electricity each year.^[23]

See also[edit]

• Solar power in Arkansas
• Energy in Arkansas
• Wind power in the United States
• Renewable energy in the United States

References[edit]