Vestas sells first V120-2.0 MW turbines in North America with 138 MW order from Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc., the U.S.’s leading utility wind provider, has placed the first V120-2.0 MW order in North America for the 138 MW Foxtail wind project in North Dakota. The V120-2.0 MW offers the 2 MW platform’s longest blades and the order marks another step forward in rotor length for the platform that has been key in Vestas becoming the leading wind energy OEM in the U.S. for the last two years.

Including previously purchased 2 MW PTC components, the Foxtail wind project will be 150 MW upon completion and is part of Xcel Energy’s proposed multi-state wind expansion to add 3,680 MW of new wind generation to its system, across 12 projects located in seven states across its territory. This expansion will increase Xcel Energy’s wind capacity to more than 10,000 MW by the end of 2021.

“We’re pleased to work with Vestas on the Foxtail Wind project. Investing in low-cost wind energy provides the benefits of clean, affordable energy directly to our customers”, said Chris Clark, president, Xcel Energy Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota. “These projects deliver on our vision to keep energy costs low while also achieving 85 percent carbon free energy by 2030 for the Upper Midwest”.

“We are pleased to expand our portfolio with Xcel Energy and supply the V120-2.0 MW, our most advanced turbine in the 2 MW platform, for the Foxtail project, which will help Xcel Energy realize their vision to deliver low-cost wind energy to their customers”, said Chris Brown, President of Vestas’ sales and service division in the United States and Canada. “Wind energy is an incredible contributor to the U.S. economy, and the production, construction and operation of these turbines will generate hundreds of millions in economic benefit including considerable amounts of long-term, secure jobs”.

Xcel Energy and Vestas previously partnered on the 600 MW Rush Creek wind project in Colorado, the largest wind project of its kind in the state. Rush Creek, currently under construction, is “Colorado made”, with turbines produced at Vestas’ Colorado factories, and is expected to save Colorado customers $1.1 billion over the life of the project.

The order includes supply and commissioning of the turbines as well as a 10-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement, designed to maximize uptime and energy production and ensure optimized performance for the lifetime of the project. Turbine delivery will begin in the second quarter of 2019.