“This project was a team effort that involved not just Tenaska but also a number of landowners, community leaders and contractors. For us all to come together and bring online this safe and efficient wind farm, that is quite an accomplishment,” said Tenaska CEO and Vice Chairman Jerry Crouse. “The team achieved many milestones to get here, and we are excited that Tenaska Clear Creek has reached its goal: commercial operation and delivering renewable power to Associated Electric Cooperative.”
Tenaska, an energy company based in Omaha, Nebraska, is a developer and operator of generating facilities across the United States. Tenaska Clear Creek is the 18th power project that the company has brought online.
The wind farm produces renewable energy under a 25-year power purchase agreement with Associated Electric Cooperative Inc., an electric generation and transmission cooperative based in Springfield, Missouri, that provides wholesale power to six regional cooperatives, including NW Electric Power Cooperative Inc. of Cameron, Missouri, and 51 local cooperative systems in Missouri, southeast Iowa and northeast Oklahoma that serve 910,000 members.
“Clear Creek helps us advance Associated’s strategy to deliver reliable, affordable and responsible power to our member-owners,” said David J. Tudor, Associated CEO and general manager. “Power from this resource contributes to our diverse and balanced energy mix and helps ensure we can continue to deliver benefits to our members.”
The wind farm is owned by Tenaska Clear Creek Wind, LLC, which is comprised of affiliates of Tenaska and Bright Canyon Energy.
“We invested in this wind farm to gain operational experience with wind, and we could not have found a better partner for our first undertaking than Tenaska, a company that brings to the table innovation, commitment and rigor,” said Bright Canyon General Manager Jason Smith. “Clear Creek will provide clean energy to customers in the Midwest for years to come and serve as a model resource to make America’s energy mix more and more green through the coming decades. We are proud to be a part of that effort.”
Construction of the wind farm began in spring 2019. Vestas, an industry-leading global manufacturer of wind turbines, supplied the wind turbines and is providing maintenance services for the project. Mortenson, a premier builder and provider of energy and engineering services, was the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. The completion of the Tenaska Clear Creek wind project is an important milestone in Mortenson’s celebration of 25 years in the wind energy industry.
Construction of Tenaska Clear Creek represented an investment of more than $300 million in the regional economy. Through Mortenson, 350 craft workers were hired from the local area and approximately $30 million in contracts were awarded to regional businesses.
During operation, Tenaska Clear Creek is supported by a team of 16 local employees staffed through NAES Corporation and Vestas. Approximately 160 landowners have long-term leases with Tenaska Clear Creek, which is estimated to result in more than $1.2 million in lease payments annually. Tenaska Clear Creek is expected to generate more than $1.2 million in tax revenue annually for local units of government.
Tenaska, which owns and operates 8,200 MW of generating facilities across the United States, prides itself on being a good business neighbor. Tenaska Clear Creek has established a community fund that will support programs in Nodaway County. The wind farm will contribute $15,000 annually for the next 20 years.
Tenaska is also managing construction of the Nobles 2 Power Partners wind farm in southwest Minnesota. The 250-MW project is anticipated to be online by the end of 2020. Tenaska’s development pipeline includes 7,000 MW of renewables projects.
In addition to power generation, Tenaska and its affiliates are industry leaders in natural gas and electric power marketing. Tenaska Marketing Ventures is among the top five largest natural gas marketers in North America and is the top-ranked natural gas pipeline capacity trader. Tenaska Power Services Co. is the leading provider of energy management services to the U.S. wind industry, as well as to generation and demand-side customers in the U.S., with more third party-owned generation under management than any other provider.
