Western Farmers Electric Cooperative entered into a power purchase agreement with a unit of NextEra Energy Resources for a combined wind, solar and energy storage project.
The Skeleton Creek project will be located in three Oklahoma counties.
The project will come online in two phases:
- Skeleton Creek Wind (previously announced) – 250 megawatts (MW) of wind energy, expected to begin operations by the end of 2019
- Skeleton Creek Solar – 250 MW of solar energy, expected to begin operations by the end of 2023
- Skeleton Creek Storage – 200 MW, 4-hour battery energy storage project, expected to begin operations by the end of 2023
The Skeleton Creek wind, solar and energy storage projects, once commercial, will help further diversify WFEC’s generation portfolio to consist of 521 MW of solar generation: 955 MW of wind generation and 270 MW of hydroelectric generation. Also, when completed, some 50 percent of WFEC nameplate capacity will include facilities generating electricity by wind, solar or hydroelectric power.
The Skeleton Creek projects will be located in Garfield, Alfalfa and Major counties in Oklahoma. In addition to the clean energy they generate, they have the potential to stimulate the local economy by creating hundreds of construction jobs, full-time operational jobs, as well as millions of dollars in additional revenue for landowners and the local communities.