Energy

Oklahoma to be home to the largest wind farm in the US

Oklahoma to be home to the largest wind farm in the US
GE Renewable Energy and Invenergy are building the largest wind farm in the United States (construction at the McAdoo Wind Energy Center pictured)
GE Renewable Energy and Invenergy are building the largest wind farm in the United States (construction at the McAdoo Wind Energy Center pictured)
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800 of GE's 2.5-MW turbines (seen here at the Fantanele Wind Farm in Romania) will be built as part of the Wind Catcher facility in Oklahoma
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800 of GE's 2.5-MW turbines (seen here at the Fantanele Wind Farm in Romania) will be built as part of the Wind Catcher facility in Oklahoma
GE Renewable Energy and Invenergy are building the largest wind farm in the United States (construction at the McAdoo Wind Energy Center pictured)
2/2
GE Renewable Energy and Invenergy are building the largest wind farm in the United States (construction at the McAdoo Wind Energy Center pictured)

The Oklahoma panhandle will soon be home to the largest wind farm in the United States, and the second largest in the world. GE Renewable Energy and Invenergy have announced the new 2,000-MW facility will be built over the next few years as part of the Wind Catcher Energy Connection project.

Currently, the largest onshore wind farm in the world is the Gansu Wind Farm in China, with a capacity of 6,000 MW, and that's planned to grow to a whopping 20,000 MW by 2020. That same year, the Oklahoma Wind Catcher facility is scheduled to boot up, pipping the Alta Wind Energy Center in California, the current largest in the US with a capacity of 1,550 MW.

800 of GE's 2.5-MW turbines (seen here at the Fantanele Wind Farm in Romania) will be built as part of the Wind Catcher facility in Oklahoma
800 of GE's 2.5-MW turbines (seen here at the Fantanele Wind Farm in Romania) will be built as part of the Wind Catcher facility in Oklahoma

The Wind Catcher will consist of 800 turbines of 2.5 MW, connected to 350 miles (563 km) of extra-high voltage power lines to supply electricity to 1.1 million people in the South Central United States. Altogether, the "giga-scale" infrastructure is projected to cost US$4.5 billion, but should save the customers it serves over $7 billion over the next 25 years.

Construction began in 2016, and the Wind Catcher facility is expected to be up and running by the middle of 2020.

Source: GE

4 comments
4 comments
Tommo
Combine this with one of Musks massive batteries and its a game changer...
Asgard
At the cost of only 100,000 birds per year...
Bob Flint
Smack in the middle of "Tornado Alley" what wonder material will they be made off....
MartinVoelker
@Asgard-- Please google "Audubon's Position on Wind Power" where they state that they "strongly support(s) properly sited wind power as a renewable energy source that helps reduce the threats posed to birds and people by climate change. Obviously they also push for minimizing harm by well researched siting of wind farms. Elsewhere you'll find validated research that puts bird killings in perspective, placing both high rise glass buildings and house cats much much higher than wind power.