242 MW Wind Farm Begins Commercial Operation in Missouri

The Tenaska Clear Creek Energy Center, a 242-megawatt (MW) wind farm in northwest Missouri, is now fully operational.

The Tenaska Clear Creek Energy Center, a 242-megawatt (MW) wind farm in northwest Missouri, is now fully operational. The facility achieved commercial operation on Monday, May 4, 2020. Located north of Maryville in Nodaway County, Tenaska Clear Creek is comprised of 111 Vestas turbines across approximately 31,000 acres.

“This project was a team effort that involved not just Tenaska but also a number of landowners, community leaders and contractors. For us all to come together and bring online this safe and efficient wind farm, that is quite an accomplishment,” said Tenaska CEO and Vice Chairman Jerry Crouse. “The team achieved many milestones to get here, and we are excited that Tenaska Clear Creek has reached its goal: commercial operation and delivering renewable power to Associated Electric Cooperative.”

The wind farm produces renewable energy under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Associated Electric Cooperative, an electric generation and transmission cooperative based in Springfield, Missouri, that provides wholesale power to six regional cooperatives, including NW Electric Power Cooperative Inc. of Cameron, Missouri, and 51 local cooperative systems in Missouri, southeast Iowa and northeast Oklahoma that serve 910,000 members.

“Clear Creek helps us advance Associated’s strategy to deliver reliable, affordable and responsible power to our member-owners,” said David J. Tudor, Associated CEO and general manager. “Power from this resource contributes to our diverse and balanced energy mix and helps ensure we can continue to deliver benefits to our members.”

The wind farm is owned by Tenaska Clear Creek Wind, LLC, which is comprised of affiliates of Tenaska and Bright Canyon Energy.

“We invested in this wind farm to gain operational experience with wind, and we could not have found a better partner for our first undertaking than Tenaska, a company that brings to the table innovation, commitment and rigor,” said Bright Canyon General Manager Jason Smith. “Clear Creek will provide clean energy to customers in the Midwest for years to come and serve as a model resource to make America’s energy mix more and more green through the coming decades. We are proud to be a part of that effort.”

In January, we had reported that Bright Canyon had acquired ownership interests in two Tenaska-developed wind projects. The transaction, which closed December 20, 2019, includes the purchase of indirect minority interests in both Tenaska Clear Creek Wind, owner of Tenaska Clear Creek Energy Center in Missouri, and Nobles 2 Power Partners, owner of the Nobles 2 wind farm in Minnesota.