Customers of Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) are now receiving electricity generated by the wind as PSO and its Weatherford Wind Energy Center partner, FPL Energy, LLC, announce the start of commercial operation at Oklahoma’s newest and largest wind farm.

The 106.5-megawatt (MW) Weatherford Wind Energy Center, located near Weatherford, Oklahoma, was declared fully operational on April 30, but already plans are being made to add more turbines at the site.

PSO and FPL Energy have signed an agreement that will increase the amount of electricity generated there by 40.5 MW, bringing the total capacity to 147 MW.  PSO will purchase all of the additional power under a long-term contract.  The site expansion will involve an additional 27 1.5 MW wind turbines that are identical to the 71 turbines already in place and operational.  The turbines will be located on 1,400 acres southeast of the original project site.

When announced in July 2004, the PSO wind power purchase agreement was the largest ever for a project in Oklahoma.  The expansion will ensure PSO’s position as the state’s largest distributor of wind generation.

"PSO is excited about commercial operations of the Weatherford Wind Energy Center, as it allows us to provide clean, renewable, and low-cost wind power to our customers,” said Stuart Solomon, PSO president and chief operating officer.  “We´re also pleased to announce the expansion of this project, which will provide even more of these benefits to customers."

The Weatherford Wind Energy Center expansion work is scheduled to begin in the near future.  Completion of the project is expected by year’s end.
 
PSO, a unit of American Electric Power, is an electric utility company serving more than 505,000 customers in eastern and southwestern Oklahoma.  Based in Tulsa, PSO has more than 4,000 megawatts of generating capacity and offers some of the lowest energy prices in the United States.