Boston-based wind power developer First Wind announced the completion of the first phase of its Milford Wind Corridor project in Utah, which will provide power to the city of Los Angeles, California.
The first phase of the project has a capacity of 203.5 megawatts (MW) in in Millard and Beaver County, Utah, making it the largest renewable energy facility in the state.
Featuring 97 total wind turbines including 58 Clipper Liberty 2.5-MW
wind turbines and 39 GE 1.5-MW wind turbines, the first phase of the
project has the capacity to generate electricity for about
45,000 homes.
Managed by RMT, Inc.,
construction on the
project began in November 2008. The project created
more than 250 development and construction jobs, and First Wind
directly spent about $30 million with Utah-based businesses developing
and building the first phase of the project and another $56 million in
indirect spending such as wages, taxes and more.
“This project has generated nearly $86 million in direct and indirect spending in Utah and will continue to benefit the region,” Utah Lt. Governor Greg Bel said.
First Wind CEO Paul Gaynor acknowledged the importance of the $376 million in construction financing that was secured in April 2009 from the Royal Bank of Scotland plc, which acted as the lead arranger for the loan along with the following banks: Banco Espirito Santo, Banco Santander, BNP Paribas, CoBank, HSH Nordbank, KeyBank, Société Générale and Credit Suisse.
The Milford Wind Corridor is the first wind energy facility permitted under the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wind Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Western US states.
In December 2007, First Wind completed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), on behalf of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and the cities of Burbank and Pasadena.
“This is another significant source of renewable energy that will help us meet Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s and the City of LA’s goal to achieve 20% renewables by 2010, reduce our carbon footprint, fight global warming, and foster cleaner air,” said LADWP General Manager S. David Freeman.
First Wind did not provide details about subsequent phases of the project.
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