Cimarron Bend Wind Farm

The Cimarron Bend Wind Farm is a 400 megawatt (MW) wind farm spanning northwest Clark County in the U.S. state of Kansas. It harvests some of the most durable and productive wind resources in the country, and became the second largest wind generating facility in the state upon completion of the first two construction phases in early 2017.[1][2] The facility allowed the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to obtain more than 45% of its electricity needs from renewable sources.[3]

Cimarron Bend Wind Farm
Official name	Cimarron Bend Wind Farm
Country	United States
Location	Clark County, Kansas
Coordinates	37°21′18″N 99°59′28″W
Construction began	April 2016
Commission date	March 2017
Construction cost	$610 million
Owner(s)	Enel Green Power
Operator(s)	Enel Green Power
Wind farm
Type	Onshore
Power generation
Units operational	200 turbines
Make and model	Vestas V110-2.0 MW
Nameplate capacity	400 MW
Capacity factor	48.9% (average 2018-2019)
Annual net output	1,712 GW·h

Details

The project was developed by the Kansas-based firm Tradewind Energy, which previously built a strategic partnership with the Italian-controlled firm Enel Green Power North America (EGPNA) that resulted in the construction of several wind farms throughout the state, including the Smoky Hills Wind Farm.[1] The electricity and tax credits from the first 200 MW phase are contracted with Google Inc., and those from the second 200 MW phase are contracted with the Kansas City BPU. A third 200 MW phase is also planned for development.[4]

The facility spans about 60,000 acres of farm and grazing land in the southwest region of the state near the town of Minneola. It includes 200 Vestas V110-2.0 MW wind turbines for which many components were manufactured in Colorado.[5] Construction of the facility started in April 2016 and employed about 350 local workers. Phase I was completed year end 2016 and phase II in late March 2017.[6] The ongoing operation and maintenance activities employ about 15 people.[7]

Construction was financed by Enel Green Power North America Renewable Energy Partners, an equally owned joint venture between EGPNA and GE Capital’s Energy Financial Services.[1] EGPNA obtained further investor financing through tax equity agreements with other U.S. financial institutions including Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan Chase, and MetLife.[7]

In early 2019, EGPNA acquired Tradewind Energy and its portfolio of future projects under development.[8][9] It also purchased GE's interest in their joint venture facilities, including the operating Cimmaron Bend Wind Farm.[10]

Electricity production data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that the facility operated at an average 47.5% capacity factor during its first full year of operation in 2018.[11][12] The facility was expanded to 599 MW in 2020.[13]

Electricity production

Cimarron Bend Wind Electricity Generation (MW·h)

Year	Cimarron Bend I (200 MW) [11]	Cimarron Bend II (200 MW) [12]	Total Annual MW·h
2017	796,118	727,592*	1,523,710
2018	787,258	877,905	1,665,163
2019	870,347	888,076	1,758,423
Average Annual Production (years 2018–2019) --->			1,711,793
Average Capacity Factor (years 2018–2019) --->			48.9%

(*) partial year of operation

See also

• Wind power in Kansas
• List of wind farms in the United States

References

1. "Enel Begins Operation in USA of Its Largest Wind Farm". Enel. March 31, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
2. Doug Rich (April 3, 2017). "Cimarron Bend wind farm completed". High Plains Journal.
3. Paul Ciampoli (July 19, 2017). "Kansas City BPU exceeds 45 percent renewable energy threshold". American Public Power Association.
4. "Cimarron Bend III". Tradewind Energy. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
5. "Cimarron Bend Wind Farm". thewindpower.net. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
6. Paul Dvorak (January 4, 2017). "EGP-NA completes first 200 MW of Cimarron Bend, becomes the wind leader in Kansas". windpowerengineering.com.
7. "Cimarron Bend Wind Farm". power-technology.com. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
8. James Dornbrook (March 6, 2019). "Tradewind sells big wind project in Kansas". Kansas City Business Journal.
9. Karl-Eric Stromsta (March 27, 2019). "Enel Green Power Acquires Long-Time US Development Partner Tradewind Energy". Green Tech Media.
10. Jason Deign (March 22, 2019). "GE Sells 650MW of Renewable Energy Assets to Enel, Despite Plans to Grow Renewables Arm". Green Tech Media.
11. "Cimarron Bend I, Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
12. "Cimarron Bend II, Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
13. "Enel Green Power brings online two new US wind farms". www.windtech-international.com. December 23, 2020.