Apex Clean Energy announced the sale of Diamond Spring Wind to ALLETE Clean Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of ALLETE. The transaction includes 15-year power purchase agreements that Apex negotiated with two Fortune 500 companies (to be announced at a later date).
Diamond Spring Wind is a 303-MW wind project in southern Oklahoma, and will become ALLETE’s largest owned wind facility.
The success of Diamond Spring Wind, a 303-MW project located in Oklahoma’s Johnston and Pontotoc Counties, demonstrates the growing commercial and industrial (C&I) demand for clean energy solutions. The executed power purchase agreements represent up to 228 MW, with the remaining project capacity also anticipated to serve the C&I market.
“Corporations are taking a clear leadership position in curbing carbon emissions, and we applaud them for aggressively working to achieve their sustainability goals,” said Mark Goodwin, president and CEO of Apex Clean Energy. “Apex is proud to partner with ALLETE at Diamond Spring Wind, one of several Apex projects this year that is expected to help leaders in the commercial and industrial sectors meet their clean energy commitments.”
Diamond Spring Wind will be the largest wind facility owned by ALLETE Clean Energy and will increase the company’s total wind energy portfolio to approximately 1,000 MW.
“Serving the corporate and industrial market opens new opportunities for ALLETE Clean Energy,” said ALLETE Clean Energy President Allan S. Rudeck, Jr. “The southern Oklahoma location is strategic in that it provides a new beach-head in the highly attractive Southwest Power Pool where significant potential exists for serving new customers in the utility and corporate and industrial segments. We are pleased to be working with Apex Clean Energy to bring Diamond Spring to market.”
ALLETE Clean Energy will begin construction on Diamond Spring Wind this year, and the project will enter commercial operations in 2020. Diamond Spring Wind is expected to contribute more than $48million in tax revenue to the local communities and more than $54 million in lease payments to landowners.
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