Enel Green Power Begins Work on 299 MW US Wind Farm

Enel Green Power North America has announced that it has begun construction of the 299 MW Aurora wind farm in North Dakota.

Enel, through its US-based renewable company Enel Green Power North America, has announced that it has begun construction of the 299 MW Aurora wind farm in North Dakota.

Expected to be fully operational by the end of 2020, the construction of the facility will involve an investment of around 450 million USD. Aurora is supported by a new power purchase agreement (PPA) for the sale of power generated by a portion of the plant to local utility Basin Electric Power Cooperative, which comes after the virtual PPA with Gap Inc signed earlier this year.

Antonio Cammisecra, CEO of Enel Green Power said that the construction of Aurora demonstrates Enel Green Power’s strength as an integrated developer-builder-operator in North America, expanding its presence in key regions and providing flexible solutions tailored to help commercial customers achieve their sustainability goals.

“Given our expertise in renewables and the favourable long-term economic outlook for the sector, this project is another example of corporate and utility partnerships leveraging renewable energy for both its sustainable features and economic profitability.”

With Aurora, the firm is currently building over 1.5 GW of wind and solar capacity. Other projects are the 236.5 MW White Cloud wind project in Missouri, the 66 MW Whitney Hill wind project in Illinois and the 450 MW High Lonesome wind project and 497 MWdc Roadrunner solar project both in Texas.

The 23-year bundled PPA with Basin Electric Power Cooperative involves the purchase of energy delivered to the grid by a 142 MW portion of the Aurora wind farm. In addition to Aurora, Basin Electric also purchases the full 150 MW electricity output of EGPNA’s Lindahl wind farm also located in North Dakota.

Aurora, under construction in Williams and Mountrail counties in North Dakota, is Enel Green Power’s second project in the state. The project is located near the 150 MW Lindahl wind farm in Williams County, which began operations in 2017. Once fully operational, the 299 MW Aurora wind project will be able to generate approximately 1.3 TWh annually while avoiding the emission of around 850,000 tons of CO2 per year.