SWEPCO looks to future clean energy additions as 199 MW Sundance comes online following delays

Despite setbacks along the way, the first portion of the massive 1485 MW North Central Energy Facilities is now putting energy on the grid.

And more is on the way, even after the three-part project is finished, as SWEPCO sets its sights on a net zero portfolio.

Sundance, the first of three wind projects comprising the facility in Oklahoma — including a behemoth just shy of 1 GW — is now operational. AEP subsidiaries Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) and Public Service Company of Oklahoma now look to the next two projects in the wind facility, and the emissions reduction goals they are intended to build toward.

The announcement of the beginning of operations at the 199 MW Sundance Wind Energy Center this month comes nearly a year after the Texas Public Utilities Commission rejected SWEPCO’s application to use the resulting capacity to serve their customers in that state, the order for which came in July 2020, and months after the project's initial intended operation date. The power will now exclusively serve their customers in Louisiana and Arkansas.

“It did not change the timeline, we had provisions in place for states. If one state chose not to approve the project, other states could increase the number of megawatts from the project, which both Arkansas and Louisiana chose to do if Texas did not. So, the project proceeded at full capacity for SWEPCO,” Peter Main, spokesman for SWEPCO, said in an interview for NPM. “They ultimately denied the project, apparently, in the belief that it would not benefit customers. We argued strongly to the contrary, and we were not successful. Ultimately, the project will benefit Arkansas and Louisiana customers, and we hope to have opportunities to bring additional renewable energy, additional renewable energy projects to customers in all three of our states.”

While the approval hurdles did not ultimately cause major delays, the COVID-19 outbreak last year did result in a slight adjustments to timetables, Main said.

“The construction and completion were impacted by COVID,” Main said. Questions about whether the impact was through personnel or supply chain issues were referred to Invenergy, which is building the three projects, being awarded the contract after an RFP process.

Construction on the next two projects is underway. The 287 MW Maverick project is expected to be operational later this year, and the 999 MW Traverse project is expected to come online in early 2022.

SWEPCO will own 810 MW of their combined capacity, or 54.5%. PSO will own the rest.

That 810 MW will help the AEP subsidiary in contributing to its parent company’s environmental aims. This year, AEP announced its intention to cut emissions 80% from 2000 levels by 2030 and reach a net zero status by 2050. More than 200 MW of coal-fired capacity were retired in 2019 and 2020 from SWEPCO’s portfolio and has plans to retire almost 1900 MW over the next eight years.

“SWEPCO certainly has goals of additional renewable energy, both wind and solar; we would look to add more wind and solar for the first time to our system. That is part of the overall goals within the American Electric Power system of moving towards net zero emissions,” Main said. “The full 810 MW offtake, from, from all three projects, is a significant addition to our renewable energy portfolio. It is part of a significant shift for us, with the previously announced plans to retire our coal fired Pirkey Power Plant in Texas (in 2023) and to cease coal operations at our Welsh Power Plant in Texas (in 2028). So those are a couple of things that are part of the shift in our resource mix.”

SWEPCO has contracted for power outside of its three-state region before, but this will be their first time owning out-of-region assets.

“We have power purchase agreements existing for 469 MW. These are facilities that we do not own; we have PPAs in place. And those facilities are in western Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle and south-central Kansas,” Main said. “Certainly, with the purchase of the facilities, you own them beyond the projected date of service. So, for example, if you have a PPA agreement for 20 years, at the end of that 20 years your purchase is complete. If you own the facility, you have many more options in terms of extending that renewable energy benefit to your customers, because you actually own the facility.”