Duke Energy Renewables blows into Oklahoma with 200-megawatt wind project

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy Renewables today announced it will build a large-scale wind power project in Oklahoma, the company's first renewables project in the state.

When built, it will increase Duke Energy Renewables' U.S. wind capacity to more than 2,000 megawatts (MW).

Duke Energy Renewables will build, own and operate the Frontier Windpower Project, sited in Kay County, east of Blackwell, Okla. The 200-MW wind farm will produce enough emissions-free electricity to power about 60,000 homes.

"We're investing heavily in renewable energy and surpassing 2,000 megawatts of wind power is a significant accomplishment for our company," said Greg Wolf, president of Duke Energy's Commercial Portfolio. "We are excited to be working with the community and local landowners as we get our first project in this wind-rich state underway. The facility will help City Utilities meet its renewable energy goals while creating economic development opportunities for Kay County."

The power will be sold to City Utilities of Springfield, Mo., under a 22-year agreement.

"City Utilities is pleased to partner with Duke Energy on the Frontier Windpower Project," said Scott Miller, general manager, City Utilities of Springfield. "Providing a long-term renewable source of power generation in this changing market is critical to the future of utilities. We look forward to bringing this source on line for our customers in the coming months."

Construction is scheduled to accelerate in the first quarter of next year, and the Frontier Windpower Project is expected to be operational by the end of 2016. It will consist of 61 Vestas V126-3.3 MW wind turbines. Duke Energy Renewables has successfully partnered with Vestas on many of its Texas wind projects.

"We're very pleased to continue building our excellent partnership with Duke Energy Renewables, one of the top wind players in the competitive U.S. market," said Chris Brown, president of Vestas' sales and service division in the United States and Canada. "By choosing the V126-3.3 MW turbine for the Frontier wind site, the order also showcases our product portfolio's great flexibility across all wind sites, as the model provides highly competitive cost of energy in a traditional 2-MW turbine market."

Amshore US Wind provided development support for the project, which will be built by Wanzek Construction.

News editors

Photographs available on request.

About Duke Energy Renewables

Duke Energy Renewables, part of Duke Energy's Commercial Portfolio, is a leader in developing innovative wind and solar energy generation projects for customers throughout the United States. The company's growing portfolio of commercial renewable assets includes 17 wind farms and 34 solar farms in operation in 12 states, totaling more than 2 gigawatts in electric-generating capacity. Learn more at www.duke-energy.com/renewables.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at www.duke-energy.com.

About City Utilities of Springfield

City Utilities of Springfield (CU) is a progressive, community-owned utility serving southwest Missouri with electricity, natural gas, water, broadband and transit services. CU has a diverse electric supply resource mix including coal, natural gas, wind, solar, landfill methane, and hydroelectric. CU provides electricity to 111,000 customers in our community.

About Vestas

Every single day, Vestas wind turbines deliver clean energy that supports the global fight against climate change. Wind power from Vestas' more than 55,700 wind turbines currently reduces carbon emissions by over 60 million tons of CO2 every year, while at the same time building energy security and independence. Today, Vestas has installed turbines in 74 countries, providing jobs for around 19,600 passionate people at our service and project sites, research facilities, factories and offices all over the world. With 52 percent more megawatts installed than our closest competitor and more than 71 GW of cumulative installed capacity worldwide, Vestas is the world leader in wind energy.

Duke Energy media contact: Tammie McGee 
980.373.8812 | 800.559.3853

City Utilities of Springfield media contact: Joel Alexander 
417.831.8902

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SOURCE Duke Energy

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