Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) has announced that the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) has approved the proposed Wind Catcher Energy Connection project.
Wind Catcher Energy Connection is a major wind farm and a dedicated power line that will bring low-cost, clean, reliable energy to AEP customers in Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. The $4.5 billion project includes the acquisition of a 2,000-megawatt wind farm under construction in the Oklahoma Panhandle and construction of an approximately 350-mile dedicated power line that will carry the wind energy to the Tulsa area, where the existing grid will deliver it to customers. SWEPCO will own 70 percent of the project. SWEPCO's sister company, Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), will own 30 percent.
Wind Catcher is the largest single-site wind project in the United States. The wind farm is under development by Invenergy in Cimarron and Texas counties in the Oklahoma Panhandle. SWEPCO and PSO will purchase the facility at completion, which is scheduled for fourth quarter 2020.
SWEPCO, which serves more than 231,000 customers in Louisiana, filed its application with the LPSC July 31, 2017.
The Wind Catcher project also remains subject to the approval of SWEPCO's applications in Texas and PSO's application in Oklahoma. Six parties have joined with PSO in a settlement agreement pending before the Oklahoma Corporate Commission. The Arkansas Public Service Commission approved the project on May 8, 2018.
