Electric power utility Duke Energy will buy the North Allegheny Windpower Project, a 70-megawatt wind farm, from Gamesa Energy USA, a subsidiary of Spain-based energy technology company Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica. According to a statement from North Carolina-headquartered Duke Energy, the wind farm is located approximately 95 miles east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and consists of 35 turbines, each capable of producing two megawatts of electricity. Construction of the farm is nearly completed and final commissioning is underway. Duke Energy will sell the output from the wind farm and associated renewable energy credits to electric power company FirstEnergy under a 23.5-year purchase agreement; FirstEnergy provides electricity in Pennsyivania, Ohio, and New Jersey. "The puchase of the North Allegheny Windpower Project in Pennsylvania marks a milestone for Duke Energy and its renewables business," says Wouter van Kempen, president of Duke Energy Generation Services. "This acquisition immediately expands our wind power portfolio beyond the western U.S., where we have half a dozen projects already in operation or under construction." The wind farm is expected to begin generating electricity for FirstEnergy later this year. Duke Energy did not release the financial terms of any aspect of the project.
