No official date has been announced but sometime early this year, the nation’s largest wind project in 2022 is expected to come on line in Oklahoma.
The 999 Megawatt Traverse Wind Energy Center is expected to begin commercial operations sometime in April. Invenergy announced funding for the large operation back in March of 2021.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration took note this week in a solar power update.
“Wind. In 2021, a record-high 17.1 GW of wind capacity came online in the United States. We based this estimate on reported additions through October (9.9 GW) and planned additions in November and December (7.2 GW). Another 7.6 GW of wind capacity is scheduled to come online in 2022. About half (51%) of the 2022 wind capacity additions are located in Texas. The 999 MW Traverse Wind Energy Center in Oklahoma, the largest wind project expected to come online in 2022, is scheduled to begin commercial operations in April.”
Traverse Wind Energy is located in Custer, Blaine and Kingfisher Counties and is the largest of three wind energy projects developed by Invenergy as part of a 1,485-megawatt North Central Wind Energy Facility.
The other two projects—287-megawatt Maverick Wind Energy Center in Major, Garfield and Kingfisher Counties and the 199-megawatt Sundance Wind Energy Center in Woods and Major Counties—both achieved financial close in December 2020.
American Electric Power will assume ownership of the three wind farms upon start of commercial operations to serve customers of subsidiaries Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) and Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO).