American Electric Power’s 998-MW Traverse Wind Energy Center is now providing clean energy to customers in Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.
Traverse is expected to generate 3.8 million megawatt-hours annually for AEP’s Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) and Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) customers in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. The 356-turbine facility spans Blaine and Custer counties in north central Oklahoma.
Traverse is the third and final wind project to compose the North Central Energy Facilities, which provide 1,484 MW of clean energy and will save customers an estimated $3 billion in electricity costs over the next 30 years.
“Traverse is part of the next chapter in AEP’s transition to a clean energy future. The commercial operation of Traverse – the largest single wind farm ever built at once in North America – and the completion of the North Central Energy Facilities is a significant milestone in our efforts to provide clean, reliable power to our customers while saving them money,” said Nicholas K. Akins, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer. “AEP is investing $8.2 billion in regulated renewables and nearly $25 billion in the transmission and distribution systems through 2026 to modernize the grid, enhance reliability and resilience and deliver more emissions-free energy to our customers. Including North Central, we plan to add approximately 16,000 MW of wind and solar in our regulated states by 2030 as part of our goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
The North Central Energy Facilities also include the 199-MW Sundance and 287-MW Maverick wind projects, which began commercial operation in April and September 2021 respectively.
Traverse, Maverick and Sundance represent a $2 billion investment in the U.S. economy through jobs in manufacturing, construction, operations and maintenance, in addition to generating property tax revenue and lease payments for landowners. The projects were developed by Invenergy and are owned by PSO and SWEPCO.
