Duke Energy's ninth wind farm to add 200 MW in Wyoming

Charlotte, N.C.-based utility and energy developer Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) said today it plans to build a 200-megawatt wind farm near Casper, Wyo.—representing the company's fourth wind project in Wyoming and ninth in the United States.

Duke Energy didn't disclose financial details of the wind farm, called the Top of the World Windpower Project, planned for 17,000 acres of public and private land that Duke has under long-term lease.

Duke Energy said it plans to begin construction late this year or early 2010, with commercial operation by the end of 2010. Duke is still searching for suppliers for more than 100 MW of the project but plans to use 66 1.5-MW turbines from Fairfield, Conn.'s General Electric (NYSE:GE) to complete a supply deal between the two (see Duke Energy buying 100 wind turbines from GE).

Shares of Duke Energy were down nearly 1 percent at $15.46 in late afternoon trading.

PacifiCorp, which does business as Rocky Mountain Power in Wyoming, has a 20-year power-purchase agreement for the wind farm's renewable energy credits and electricity, expected to power 50,000 to 60,000 homes. PacifiCorp also has a PPA for Duke Energy's nearby 99-MW Campbell Hill wind farm, which is scheduled to come online later this year.

The company has two other wind farms in Wyoming: the operational 29-MW Happy Jack project in Cheyenne and the 42-MW Silver Sage project nearing completion.

Duke Energy say sit has 500 MW of wind farms in operation, with plans to reach 700 MW this year. The company also has a pipeline of 5,000 MW in potential development projects.

"We've always believed Duke Energy could become a major player in the wind power industry if we adhered to our strategy for organic as well as opportunistic growth," said Wouter van Kempen, president of Duke Energy Generation Services, the company's unit that owns and develops renewable energy assets, in a news release.

In May 2007, Duke Energy purchased Austin, Texas-based Tierra Energy's more-than 1,000 MW of wind assets under development in the Western and Southwestern United States (see Duke buys Tierra Energy's wind business). Included in that deal were 240 MW in Texas and Wyoming.

In June 2008, the company purchased wind developer Catamount Energy, gaining a portfolio of 300 MW of renewable energy in operation, and a pipeline of 1,750 MW of development interests in several states and the UK (see Duke Energy buys wind developer for $240M).

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