Expect more wind energy development
If pending interconnect agreements being handled by the Southwest Power Pool are any indication, the construction of wind farms in Oklahoma is going to continue for a long time.
Dozens of agreements for wind projects potentially capable of generating more than 12,000 megawatts of power are pending before the organization, which is mandated by the federal government to ensure reliability, adequate transmission lines and other equipment, and competitive wholesale power.
This map(editorial art should be working this up), provided by the Oklahoma Wind Power Initiative, shows what counties have active wind projects applying for the agreements
Building a Turbine Farm
Greg Adams, a technical consultant who develops wind farms as an associate for Chermac Energy Corp., said towers are built using cranes. Smaller yard cranes are used on the job site until the base part of a tower’s pole is erected, then larger cranes are brought in to handle the rest of each tower installation.
Adams said it takes about 10 to 14 working days, spread across a three-month-long period, to build a tower because workers have to allow tower foundations to cure and have to install other, underground plants and all the needed wiring. A substation also must be built to collect the turbines’ power.
Also, weather delays — often, high winds — are not uncommon.
Adams said it takes a minimum of 10 months to build a farm with 50 turbines that can generate 100 megawatts of power, but said actual construction time often runs about a year for that size of development.
A typical development creates about 100 construction jobs, Adams said.
Once wind farms are operational, they typically employ about one person for every 10 megawatts of power they generate, Adams said.
The Sleeping Bear Wind Farm
The Sleeping Bear Wind Farm, located in Harper County(this would be the top right-hand star near Fort Supply on the wind resource map), generates about 95 megawatts of power. It uses 45 turbines, each capable of generating about 2 megawatts of power. The operation generates enough power to supply about 28,000 homes. The electricity is bought by Public Service Co. of Oklahoma. The development is owned by Edison Mission Group.
The Centennial Wind Farm
The Centennial Wind Farm, located in Harper County(this would be the left-hand star of the two near Fort Supply at the top of the wind resource map), generates about 120 megawatts of power. It uses 80 turbines, each capable of generating 1.5 megawatts. The operation generates enough power to supply about 36,000 homes. The electricity is bought by OG&E, which also owns the project.
Weatherford Wind Energy Center
The Weatherford Wind Energy Center, located in Custer County(this would be the star near Weatherford on the wind resource map), generates about 147 megawatts of power for Public Service Co. of Oklahoma. It uses 98 turbines, each capable of generating 1.5 megawatts. The operation generates enough power to supply about 44,000 homes, the wind power initiative says. Florida Power and Light owns the project, which started operating in 2005.
The FPL Sooner Wind Project
The FPL Energy Sooner Wind project, located in Harper and Woodward counties(this would be the lower-right star of the top three on the map, located near Woodward on the wind resource map), generates about 100 megawatts of power, which is used by the Oklahoma Nicipal Power Authority and Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. The development uses 68 turbines, each capable of generating 1.5 megawatts of power. The operation generates enough power to supply about 30,000 homes, the wind power initiative says. Florida Power and Light owns the development, which started operating in 2003.
Oklahoma Wind Power
Right now, Oklahoma has five operating wind farms generating close to 700 megawatts of power.
The projects are spread across the western half of the Sooner State, as indicated by this map provided by the Oklahoma Wind Power Initiative, which also shows wind resource potential for commercial generation of wind power.
