Vestas to build state’s largest wind farm for Xcel

BRIGHTON — Vestas Wind Systems A/S will build the turbines for Colorado’s largest wind farm as part of Xcel Energy’s plan to add up to 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy in the state, officials for both companies said Tuesday.

Denmark-based Vestas (CPH: AWS), which has nearly 4,000 employees in Colorado and manufactures wind-turbine blades, towers and nacelles at plants in Brighton, Windsor and Pueblo, will construct a 600-megawatt project that will cover parts of several counties in eastern Colorado. All of the turbine parts will be built at Colorado facilities, officials said.

David Eves, president and chief executive of Public Service Co. of Colorado, Xcel’s subsidiary in the state, announced the plan at Vestas’ Brighton facility as part of a presentation by the American Wind Energy Association.

The wind farm, which still needs Public Utilities Commission approval, would generate enough energy to supply the needs of about 180,000 homes in the state, Xcel officials said. They expect the project to be up and running by late 2018.

Officials at Xcel (NYSE: XEL) would not reveal exactly where the wind farm would be located or how many acres it would cover.

During the presentation, attended by Gov. John Hickenlooper, the AWEA issued its 2015 annual report that said that American wind power supported 88,000 jobs at the start of 2016, an increase of 20 percent in a year. The report said wind outpaced solar and natural gas to rank as the nation’s leading source of new generating capacity in 2015.

“In 2015, Colorado ranked fifth in the nation for wind-power capacity additions,” Hickenlooper said at the event. “An investment in the wind-power industry and in wind projects generates new jobs, economic development in rural counties and clean-air benefits to all Coloradans.”

“Wind power benefits more American families than ever before,” said Tom Kiernan, chief executive of AWEA. “We’re helping young people in rural America find a job close to home. Others are getting a fresh chance to rebuild their careers by landing a job in the booming clean- energy sector. With long-term, stable policy in place, and a broader range of customers now buying low-cost wind-generated electricity, our workforce can grow to 380,000 well-paying jobs by 2030.”

The industry got a boost when Congress passed a long-term extension of the wind energy Production Tax Credit and alternative Investment Tax Credit late last year. With the extension in place and the recent industry growth, wind energy is on track to meet the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Vision scenario of supplying 20 percent of U.S. electricity by 2030.

Chris Brown, president of Vestas Americas and incoming AWEA board chairman, hosted the media event at Vestas’ Brighton plant, which assembles turbine nacelles, which house the gearbox and electrical generator at the top of a wind turbine.

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