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Released July 16, 2018 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Plans by American Electric Power Company (NYSE:AEP) (AEP) (Columbus, Ohio) to significantly reduce power plant emissions took a big step forward late last month after the Louisiana Public Service Commission (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) approved plans by AEP subsidiary Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) (Shreveport, Louisiana) to own a share of AEP's $4.5 billion Wind Catcher wind farm.
Wind Catcher, a multi-phase, 2,000-megawatt (MW) windfarm slated to be built in the Oklahoma Panhandle, is a foundational piece of AEP's goal to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions 60% by 2030 compared to 2000 levels. By 2050, those emissions will be cut 80% compared to its 2000 levels. Construction of the project is slated to start later this summer. By late 2020, the project is scheduled to begin operating. GE Renewable Energy, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) (Boston, Massachusetts), will supply about 800 wind turbines to the project. The first phase of the Wind Catcher project is sized at 275 MW. The project also includes construction of a dedicated 350-mile transmission line to the Tulsa area.
The Wind Catcher windfarm itself will cost an estimated $2.9 billion to construct, and another $1.6 billion of transmission investments will be needed to bring electricity from the windfarm to Tulsa, and then on to AEP customers in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana. AEP units SWEPCO and Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) (Tulsa, Oklahoma) will own 70% and 30%, respectively, of the project.
The Louisiana Public Service Commission approved the Wind Catcher project on a 4-1 vote June 20. SWEPCO will take about 1,400 MW of the windfarm's output. SWEPCO projected Wind Catcher will save its customers more than $4 billion over 25 years compared to buying power on the open market.
But Wind Catcher isn't ready yet to break ground: it still needs to be approved by regulators in Texas and Oklahoma. Still, the company was excited about the project's June 20 approval by Louisiana regulators: "Wind Catcher is a major investment in clean energy that will produce long-term savings for Louisiana customers and further diversify our energy resource mix," Nicholas K. Akins, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Wind Catcher is the largest single-site wind project in the United States. The windfarm is being developed by Invenergy (Chicago, Illinois) in Cimarron and Texas counties in the Oklahoma Panhandle, AEP said. Subsequent phases of the project likely will be built in Texas. Subsidiaries SWEPCO and PSO will purchase the facility when construction is complete near the end of 2020.
As large as Wind Catcher is, it is only part of AEP's ambitious plan to green its electricity supply and reduce power-plant emissions. The utility holding company's clean energy strategy, released earlier this year, called for adding 3,065 MW of solar generation and 5,295 MW of wind generation to its portfolio by 2030.
Beyond adding renewable generation to lower AEP's overall carbon footprint, the utility holding company also plans to use a variety of advanced technologies, customer programs and enhancement of the efficiency of its transmission and distribution (T&D) assets to meet its goal of cutting power-plant CO2 emissions by 60% from 2000 levels by 2030 and 80% from 2000 levels by 2050.
"AEP is focused on modernizing the power grid, expanding renewable energy resources and delivering cost-effective, reliable energy to our customers," Nicholas K. Akins, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in releasing the company's clean energy strategy February 6. "Our customers want us to partner with them to provide cleaner energy and new technologies, while continuing to provide reliable, affordable energy. Our investors want us to protect their investment in our company, deliver attractive returns and manage climate-related risk. This long-term strategy allows us to do both."
In a presentation to investors June 13, AEP officials detailed the company's three-year, $17.7-billion capital plan. Over the 2018-2020 period, all of that spending will go to regulated businesses and contracted renewables, AEP officials emphasized, adding that 72% of the $17.7 billion in spending will be allocated to AEP's T&D businesses.
Click on the image at right to see a pie chart for AEP's three-year capital spending plan.
Across the AEP system, capital spending this year is expected to reach $6 billion, rise a bit in 2019 to $6.2 billion then fall to $5.5 billion in 2020, AEP officials projected. By subsidiary, capital spending over 2018-2020 will be heaviest for AEP's transmission holding company ($4.4 billion), followed by AEP Texas Company ($3.1 billion), Appalachian Power Company ($2.5 billion) and Indiana Michigan Power Company ($1.8 billion).
Going forward, AEP officials told investors June 13, the company will be focused on being well positioned as a regulated utility business with a growing emphasis on renewable energy. Gone are the days of building central-station generation projects and fighting over restructuring in the state of Ohio.
For more on AEP's transition, see February 17, 2017, article - Turning Away from Merchant Generation, AEP Unveils $17.3 Billion Capital Budget in Regulated Markets. Other utilities, including FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) (Akron, Ohio), that didn't fare well in competitive markets, have similarly withdrawn to their regulated roots. For more on that, see February 8, 2017, article - Stung by Competitive Power Markets, FirstEnergy Focuses on T&D Investments.
As part of its shift back to its regulated utility business, AEP told investors it is expected to invest about $3 billion per year in transmission projects. It expects those investments to be concentrated in modernizing its grid, replacing aging infrastructure, increasing physical and cyber security, improving reliability, enhancing market efficiency and advancing economic development projects, company officials said June 13.
Industrial Info is tracking about 187 active AEP projects in the U.S. totaling $3.7 billion. The states expected to see the heaviest capital investment include Oklahoma (nine projects valued at $1.6 billion), West Virginia (27 projects worth $483 million), Indiana (26 projects with total investment value of about $392 million), Ohio (53 projects valued at approximately $376 million) and Michigan at 25 projects valued at about $332 million).
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
Wind Catcher, a multi-phase, 2,000-megawatt (MW) windfarm slated to be built in the Oklahoma Panhandle, is a foundational piece of AEP's goal to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions 60% by 2030 compared to 2000 levels. By 2050, those emissions will be cut 80% compared to its 2000 levels. Construction of the project is slated to start later this summer. By late 2020, the project is scheduled to begin operating. GE Renewable Energy, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) (Boston, Massachusetts), will supply about 800 wind turbines to the project. The first phase of the Wind Catcher project is sized at 275 MW. The project also includes construction of a dedicated 350-mile transmission line to the Tulsa area.
The Wind Catcher windfarm itself will cost an estimated $2.9 billion to construct, and another $1.6 billion of transmission investments will be needed to bring electricity from the windfarm to Tulsa, and then on to AEP customers in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana. AEP units SWEPCO and Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) (Tulsa, Oklahoma) will own 70% and 30%, respectively, of the project.
The Louisiana Public Service Commission approved the Wind Catcher project on a 4-1 vote June 20. SWEPCO will take about 1,400 MW of the windfarm's output. SWEPCO projected Wind Catcher will save its customers more than $4 billion over 25 years compared to buying power on the open market.
But Wind Catcher isn't ready yet to break ground: it still needs to be approved by regulators in Texas and Oklahoma. Still, the company was excited about the project's June 20 approval by Louisiana regulators: "Wind Catcher is a major investment in clean energy that will produce long-term savings for Louisiana customers and further diversify our energy resource mix," Nicholas K. Akins, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Wind Catcher is the largest single-site wind project in the United States. The windfarm is being developed by Invenergy (Chicago, Illinois) in Cimarron and Texas counties in the Oklahoma Panhandle, AEP said. Subsequent phases of the project likely will be built in Texas. Subsidiaries SWEPCO and PSO will purchase the facility when construction is complete near the end of 2020.
As large as Wind Catcher is, it is only part of AEP's ambitious plan to green its electricity supply and reduce power-plant emissions. The utility holding company's clean energy strategy, released earlier this year, called for adding 3,065 MW of solar generation and 5,295 MW of wind generation to its portfolio by 2030.
Beyond adding renewable generation to lower AEP's overall carbon footprint, the utility holding company also plans to use a variety of advanced technologies, customer programs and enhancement of the efficiency of its transmission and distribution (T&D) assets to meet its goal of cutting power-plant CO2 emissions by 60% from 2000 levels by 2030 and 80% from 2000 levels by 2050.
"AEP is focused on modernizing the power grid, expanding renewable energy resources and delivering cost-effective, reliable energy to our customers," Nicholas K. Akins, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in releasing the company's clean energy strategy February 6. "Our customers want us to partner with them to provide cleaner energy and new technologies, while continuing to provide reliable, affordable energy. Our investors want us to protect their investment in our company, deliver attractive returns and manage climate-related risk. This long-term strategy allows us to do both."
In a presentation to investors June 13, AEP officials detailed the company's three-year, $17.7-billion capital plan. Over the 2018-2020 period, all of that spending will go to regulated businesses and contracted renewables, AEP officials emphasized, adding that 72% of the $17.7 billion in spending will be allocated to AEP's T&D businesses.
Click on the image at right to see a pie chart for AEP's three-year capital spending plan.Across the AEP system, capital spending this year is expected to reach $6 billion, rise a bit in 2019 to $6.2 billion then fall to $5.5 billion in 2020, AEP officials projected. By subsidiary, capital spending over 2018-2020 will be heaviest for AEP's transmission holding company ($4.4 billion), followed by AEP Texas Company ($3.1 billion), Appalachian Power Company ($2.5 billion) and Indiana Michigan Power Company ($1.8 billion).
Going forward, AEP officials told investors June 13, the company will be focused on being well positioned as a regulated utility business with a growing emphasis on renewable energy. Gone are the days of building central-station generation projects and fighting over restructuring in the state of Ohio.
For more on AEP's transition, see February 17, 2017, article - Turning Away from Merchant Generation, AEP Unveils $17.3 Billion Capital Budget in Regulated Markets. Other utilities, including FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) (Akron, Ohio), that didn't fare well in competitive markets, have similarly withdrawn to their regulated roots. For more on that, see February 8, 2017, article - Stung by Competitive Power Markets, FirstEnergy Focuses on T&D Investments.
As part of its shift back to its regulated utility business, AEP told investors it is expected to invest about $3 billion per year in transmission projects. It expects those investments to be concentrated in modernizing its grid, replacing aging infrastructure, increasing physical and cyber security, improving reliability, enhancing market efficiency and advancing economic development projects, company officials said June 13.
Industrial Info is tracking about 187 active AEP projects in the U.S. totaling $3.7 billion. The states expected to see the heaviest capital investment include Oklahoma (nine projects valued at $1.6 billion), West Virginia (27 projects worth $483 million), Indiana (26 projects with total investment value of about $392 million), Ohio (53 projects valued at approximately $376 million) and Michigan at 25 projects valued at about $332 million).
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
