BP building a new Colorado wind farm

A map from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory shows areas with the potential for windpower and the associated transmission grid.

Company is a major player on the Colorado energy scene; feds levied $5 million fine against BP for under-reporting production on SW Colorado tribal lands

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Along with its huge oil-spill mess in the Gulf of Mexico, BP has become a significant player in Colorado wind power. In May, the company’s Houston-based wind energy subsidiary announced that it reached a long-term power purchase agreement with Public Service Company of Colorado, an Xcel Energy company.

The Cedar Creek II wind farm will be located on 30,000 acres about 20 miles north of New Raymer, in Weld County and east of the existing 300.5 MW Cedar Creek I wind farm. BP expects that 250 workers will be employed during construction of the wind farm and an estimated 12-14 jobs will be created to monitor and maintain the facility once it is in full commercial operation.

“The project will be one of the largest in Colorado and increases the utilization of a highly desirable wind power resource,” said Tom Imbler, Xcel Energy vice president for commercial operations.

Imbler said construction of the new wind power facility will begin this summer, pending permitting requirements, and the turbines could be humming by 2011. Some existing transmission lines can be used to deliver the power to the grid, but an additional 20 miles of overhead powerlines will be built to tie into the existing Cedar Creek I wind farm’s power grid.

In a press release, BP wind energy vice president John Graham called the deal a milestone for
landowners, county officials and many others in Weld County who  supported the project.

“(This) marks another significant investment commitment by BP Wind Energy as we continue to build out our wind portfolio across this nation,” Graham said. “The Cedar Creek II wind farm will create new jobs in construction, deliver an additional revenue stream to rural communities without impacting traditional ranching practices, and will provide clean, affordable power to over 75,000 residents of Colorado.”

BP is also a major natural gas producer in Colorado, with production facilities in the Durango area employing about 200 people. The company also has a natural gas processing facility near Denver.

BP ran afoul of federal regulators last month when the Department of Interior levied a fine of $5.1 million against the company for false reporting of energy production on Native American tribal lands in southwestern Colorado.

Read the details on the penalty in this Denver Business Journal story.

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