In December 2011, Enel Green Power North America put into service the Caney River in Elk County, Kansas.
The new plant, which required a total investment of 350 million dollars, consists of 111 V-90 wind turbines of 1.8 MW each for a total installed capacity of around 200 MW. When completed it will produce 765 million kWh per year, enough to meet the annual consumption of approximately 70,000 American households and to avoid the atmospheric emission of more than 580,000 metric tons of CO2 per year.
The electricity generated by the Caney River Wind project, which was developed by EGP-NA’s partner, TradeWind Energy, will be purchased by the Tennessee Valley Authority under the terms of a 20 year-contract.
The Caney Wind River project provides 8.5 million dollars in funding for the plan to protect the tallgrass prairie in Kansas. Specifically, the funding will be used to help establish environmental restrictions needed to protect over 18,000 hectares, restore 6,000 hectares of the Tallgrass Prairie Habitat and conduct research on its eco-system’s wind patterns and wildlife.
