Oklahoma to have largest wind farm in the United States
Project will cost US$ 4.5 billion
The United States appears to be finally catching up with nations like China, Germany and Scotland in terms of large-scale wind energy projects. The country finally has a functioning offshore wind farm and several other related projects for the East Coast. There is also progress in the projected construction of large onshore wind farms.
THE GE Renewable Energy and the Invenergy announced that the state of Oklahoma will soon be home to the largest wind farm in the United States: the project Wind Catcher , which will have a capacity to generate 2,000 MW. The size of the project surpasses the country's largest wind farm, the California's High Wind Energy Center, which has a generating capacity of 1,550 MW.
When completed, the Wind Catcher will be the second largest wind farm in the world, behind the gigantic Gansu Wind Farm, which has a generation capacity of 6,000 MW, but is projected to expand to 20,000 MW by 2020.
The wind farm will have 800 GE 2.5 MW wind turbines and is part of a larger project called Wind Catcher Energy Connection, which also includes a unique 350-mile extra-voltage power line to power utilities in Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma to approximately 1.1 million customers.
The project will cost about US$4.5 billion, but it is estimated that it will avoid US$7 billion in expenses for electricity users benefiting from the system over the next 25 years.
The wind farm is already under construction and should be completed in 2020.
Source: Treehugger
