EDP Renewables, SA (EDPR), through its fully owned subsidiary, EDP Renewables North America LLC (EDPR NA), announced that it has secured an 80-MW, 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Salesforce for the energy produced from its Bright Stalk Wind Farm in McLean County, Illinois. This PPA is a part of the 405-MW announcement EDPR issued on July 3, 2018.

EDPR NA announced that it has secured an 80-MW, 15-year PPA with Salesforce for the energy produced from its Bright Stalk Wind Farm in McLean County, Illinois. Bright Stalk Wind Farm is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2019.
The 205-MW Bright Stalk Wind Farm will produce enough clean electricity to annually power more than 71,000 average Illinois homes. The project will pay up to $2.6 million in local taxes each year as well as millions of dollars to local landowners through the life of the project.
The wind farm will also create hundreds of full-time equivalent jobs during construction (expected to commence next year) and several permanent jobs during the life of the project. Bright Stalk Wind Farm is anticipated to be fully operational by the end of 2019.
“EDP Renewables is proud to partner with Salesforce to help in meeting its commendable commitment of powering its global operations exclusively by renewable energy sources,” said João Manso Neto, EDP Renewables CEO. “This agreement is a major milestone for EDP Renewables and paves the way for our company to expand our presence as a wind industry leader in the state of Illinois.”
The Bright Stalk Wind Farm will soon be EDP Renewables’ third operational wind farm in McLean County. EDPR also owns and operates the 398-MW Twin Groves I and II Wind Farms that have been operational since 2007 and 2008, respectively.
Through its Twin Groves Wind Farm, EDP Renewables has paid approximately $28.3 million to local governments and $26.1 million to local landowners through 2017. It is estimated that $126.4 million has also been spent within 50 miles of the wind farm. The addition of the Bright Stalk Wind Farm will result in additional tax and landowner payments and increased spending at local establishments in and around McLean County.
“At Salesforce, we are committed to doing our part to step up to the challenge of climate change – the biggest, most important and most complex challenge humans have ever faced,” said Patrick Flynn, Vice President of Sustainability, Salesforce. “This agreement is a huge step toward our goal of powering our operations with 100 percent renewable energy by 2022, and we are excited to work with EDP Renewables on this urgent initiative.”
This PPA is Salesforce’s largest to date and further advances the company’s commitment to working toward 100% renewable energy. The location of the Bright Stalk Wind Farm is especially important as it is near Salesforce data centers, as well as a growing office hub.
“EDP Renewables is pleased to construct its third wind farm in McLean County which will total more than 600 MW of EDPR owned and operated projects in the area,” said Miguel Prado, EDP Renewables North America CEO. “McLean County has hosted EDPR’s projects for more than a decade, and we look forward to continuing our partnership for years to come.”
To date, EDPR operates 797 MW of wind energy projects in Illinois, representing a capital investment of approximately $1.7 billion in the state. The addition of the Bright Stalk Wind Farm as well as, the Broadlands Wind Farm in Douglas County will further increase EDPR’s footprint in Illinois, surpassing 1,200 MW, or 1.2 GW, of operational capacity by the end of next year.
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