American Electric Power RFPs Seek Wind Energy in Eastern U.S.

[jpak]

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=48025

To serve customers of Appalachian and Indiana Michigan utility units, American Electric Power (AEP) has issued two requests for proposals (RFPs) seeking long-term wind energy purchase agreements, marking the first steps toward a goal of adding 1,000 megawatts (MW) of new wind energy by 2011 as part of AEP's strategy to address greenhouse gas emissions.
The RFPs are for up to 260 MW of wind energy for AEP's Appalachian Power utility unit and up to 100 MW of wind energy for AEP's Indiana Michigan Power utility unit. The 360 MW of wind energy included in the two RFPs equals almost 60 percent of the currently installed wind generation in the PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization that covers all or parts of 13 states ranging from Illinois to North Carolina to New Jersey.

The deadline for bids is April 30, with delivery to begin the end of 2008, the current expiration of the Federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind.

AEP currently owns two wind farms in Texas with a total capacity of 310 MW and has long-term contracts to purchase 467 MW of output from wind farms in Oklahoma and Texas owned by third parties.

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[JohnWxy]

1. Big news. A utility building wind farms. We'll begin to see more of this.