Virginia Company Adds to Major Wind Energy Investment

Virginia-based Apex Wind Energy Inc. has purchased an additional 44,000 acre northeast Indiana wind farm from Missouri-based Wind Capital Group LLC.

The company is planning a two-phase project that could generate up to 300 MW of wind power.

A company spokesperson tells Inside INdiana Business he expects investment in the combined Wells County Wind Farm I and the newly-acquired Wells County Wind II, formerly called Wells Prairie Wind, to total nearly $400 million.

Apex Wind Energy announces its acquisition of the leases and assets of the project formerly known as Wells Prairie Wind. Apex acquired the 44,000 acre project, now renamed Wells County Wind II, from Wind Capital Group early this month.

“We are very excited by the opportunity to build a project in Wells County with the capacity to power 100,000 homes,” said Rob Propes, Development Manager for Apex. “By expanding the potential development area, we can make our project more efficient and more productive. We are thrilled to welcome Wells County II landowners into our project, and we look forward to working with them to develop a clean, renewable, stable-priced energy resource in Indiana.”

Together, Wells County Wind I & II are expected to produce up to 300 MW of electricity, doubling the anticipated capacity of Wells I alone. Wells County Wind I is projected to generate over $17 million in new tax revenue for Wells County over the life of the project, and over $2 million in direct payments to participating landowners per year. The additional turbines will increase the property tax revenue generated by the project, while raising the total payments to participating landowners. The expansion of the project will also increase the number of construction and direct and indirect jobs created in the county, while offering participating landowners more certainty of the project being completed.

The project is currently planned to be built in two phases, phase one being up to 200 MWs and phase two being 100 MWs.

Apex Wind Energy, Inc. is an independent renewable energy company based in Charlottesville, VA. Since its founding in 2009, Apex has completed eleven acquisitions and become one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry. The company has a diversified portfolio of wind energy facilities in development around the country and owns several operating solar PV assets in Colorado. The company