Edison Mission and Nebraska public power district announce new wind farm

“The addition of Crofton Bluffs moves NPPD another step closer to our board of directors goal of having 10 percent of our energy resources come from renewable energy”

The Crofton Bluffs project is located in Knox County near the towns of Crofton and Bloomfield in northeast Nebraska, approximately 15 miles south of the South Dakota border. The site is adjacent to another EMG facility near Bloomfield, the Elkhorn Ridge wind project, which was commissioned in 2009.energy

Crofton Bluffs wind power will be powered by 22 wind turbines capable of generating up to 42 megawatts (MW) of electricity. All of the power produced by the project will be sold to NPPD under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

Crofton Bluffs is EMG’s fourth wind energy project in Nebraska, all of which have contracts with NPPD. "Nebraska has emerged as one of the most important states in EMG’s wind energy portfolio, and Nebraska Public Power District has become one of our biggest wind energy customers," said Pedro Pizarro, president of EMG. “The state offers abundant wind resources and an economic and public policy environment that is supportive and welcoming of clean energy investment. We are pleased to be working again with NPPD to provide environmentally friendly wind power to their customers.”

“The addition of Crofton Bluffs moves NPPD another step closer to our board of directors goal of having 10 percent of our energy resources come from renewable energy,” said NPPD President and CEO Pat Pope.

“The energy produced will be shared with other Nebraska utilities as we have done at the Ainsworth and other EMG wind farms.” NPPD is currently working with Omaha Public Power District and other Nebraska utilities as partners in the project.

Construction of Crofton Bluffs is scheduled to be completed by year end. During construction the project will support about 20 local vendors and contribute about $2.8 million to the state in sales tax revenues.

Once completed, Crofton Bluffs will provide about $16 million in property and state tax revenues and lease payments to local landowners over the next 25 years. The wind farm will be managed primarily by existing staff currently operating the adjacent Elkhorn Ridge project, with potential to add four new positions to support operations at Crofton Bluffs.

In addition to Crofton Bluffs and Elkhorn Ridge, EMG also operates the Laredo Ridge wind farm near Petersburg in Boone County and is building he Broken Bow wind project in Custer County.