PSO Signs Long-Term Agreements for Wind Power

Energy Resource, Feb 5, 2009

ENERGY RESOURCE-5 February 2009-PSO Signs Long-Term Agreements for Wind Power(C)2009 JeraOne - http://www.jeraone.com

Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), an American Electric Power operating unit, has signed long-term power purchase agreements for approximately 198 megawatts of renewable energy from two Oklahoma wind farms.

Through the 20-year agreements, PSO will purchase 98.9 megawatts (MW) from a wind farm in Elk City, Okla., being developed by NextEra Energy Resource (formerly FPL Energy) and 99 megawatts from an expansion of Horizon Wind Energy's Blue Canyon facilities north of Lawton, Okla.

Both sites are expected to be operational by Dec. 31. The agreements are part of PSO's long-term energy supply plan and are subject to approval by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

"Wind energy can play an important role in our ongoing efforts to balance our customers' demands for electricity with the desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Michael G. Morris, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer. "With these agreements, AEP has contracted to add 653 megawatts of renewable wind energy to our generation mix in just the last two years, and we are on target to achieve our voluntary goal of adding 1,000 megawatts of new renewable generation to serve our customers by 2011."

Including the new PSO agreements, AEP's generation mix includes 310 MW of wind turbines owned and operated by AEP in Texas and another 1,120 MW of long-term wind energy purchase agreements for a total of 1,430 MW of wind energy in the company's generation portfolio.

American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states.

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