US wind energy developer the Edison Mission Group (EMG), together with Midwest Wind Energy and the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), has commenced construction on an 80MW wind farm in Custer County, central Nebraska.
The project known as Broken Bow Wind is expected to cost $145m and, once complete, will be owned and operated by EMG, which is a subsidiary of Edison International. The facility is expected to be operational by November 2012 with all electricity produced being sold to NPPD under terms of a 20-year power purchase agreement.
Pedro Pizarro, president of EMG, said, 'We are pleased to be building our third wind energy project in Nebraska. The state is able to attract investment in clean energy thanks to its plentiful wind resources, along with its legislative and regulatory climate that supports the development of renewable energy projects. We are also very pleased to expand our relationship with [NPPD] with this most recent project."
Pat Pope, president and CEO of NPPD, added, 'The addition of Broken Bow Wind, moves NPPD closer to our board of directors goal of having ten per cent of our energy come from renewable energy. The energy produced will be shared with other Nebraska utilities as we have done at other EMG wind farms. NPPD is working with Omaha Public Power District, Lincoln Electric System, Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska and the City of Grand Island as partners in the project.'