Attendees included state representatives, Tunica County leadership and project stakeholders, including Amazon, the purchaser of energy from the Delta Wind facility. The event included a bus tour of the Delta Wind site
Construction of the 184 MW Delta Wind project began in 2023 and the facility became operational in April 2024. The Delta Wind project features 41 Vestas wind turbines that rise to a total tip height of 692 feet and produce enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of 80,000 Mississippi homes.
“The AES Delta Wind project represents a historic milestone as the first utility-scale wind energy project in Mississippi,” said Woody Rubin, chief development officer for AES’ US renewable energy business. “This pioneering project provides clean, reliable energy to Amazon to power its facilities and operations in the region while reducing carbon emissions. The project also provides an important economic infusion to local communities by supporting more than 300 jobs during peak construction and by generating tens of millions of dollars in new tax revenue to support local schools, infrastructure and services in Tunica County over the life of the project.”
“The Delta Wind project is a key part of our efforts to build a sustainable economy on the Mississippi Delta that works for everyone,” said Dr. Billy Willis, Administrator for Tunica County. “Change is often difficult but we’re making history here with the Delta Wind project and we believe this project can be a catalyst for accelerated renewable energy and economic development throughout the South.”
Originated and initially developed by Steelhead Americas, Vestas' North American development arm, then acquired by AES, the Delta Wind project is located on 14,000 acres of privately owned farmland in Tunica County. The project was carefully designed in collaboration with local landowners to be a “dual-use” project to ensure current agricultural land uses — the growing of rice, soybeans, corn and wheat — continue beneath the turbines.
