New wind farm in Indiana to ease state's reliance on fossil fuels, spur investment
Green energy is advancing in the Midwest.
Pattern Energy Group LP, a leader in developing renewable energy and transmission assets, recently announced that it has completed financing for the 150 megawatt Amazon Wind Farm project located in Benton County, Indiana. Construction has ramped up at the site as a result.
Mike Garland, President and CEO of Pattern Energy suggested that future projects are coming with other major corporations: “"We look forward to helping Amazon power its customers' businesses with domestic clean energy harnessed from the winds of Indiana. We are now working with Amazon, Google and Walmart, demonstrating that America's leading corporations are increasingly investing in, or buying power from, non-polluting energy sources like wind power. We see this growing trend driving the development of more new projects."
The Amazon Wind Farm project will utilize 65 Siemens 2.3 MW turbines with “Made in America” components. It will employ approximately 300 skilled workers on-site at the peak of construction activity and create up to 15 permanent jobs once operational. Mortenson Construction will manage construction of the project. Local contractors will be utilized during construction and operations.
The project will create numerous economic benefits, including the addition of an estimated $40 million over 25 years into the regional economy in the form of local construction contracts, property tax payments to Benton County, royalties to participating landowners and support for local causes.
Upon completion, the Amazon Wind Farm project is expected to generate approximately 500,000 MWh of wind power annually, which is the equivalent of that used by approximately 46,000 US homes. Compared to coal-fired generation, the project will save enough water to meet the annual needs of 8,000 people.
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