EDP Renewables (EDPR) and Dairyland Power Cooperative celebrated the completion of the Quilt Block Wind Farm at a joint dedication event in Darlington, Wisconsin, on Friday, November 10. A number of the wind farm’s stakeholders including landowners, government officials, and others also attended the event that featured several speeches, a ribbon cutting and a bus tour of the wind farm.
EDPR owns and operates the 98 megawatt (MW) Quilt Block Wind Farm, which is located in Lafayette County. Dairyland has a power purchase agreement in place with EDPR for the entire energy output of the wind farm that will produce enough clean electricity to power more than 25,000 households in Dairyland’s rural four-state service area.
Quilt Block Wind Farm is EDPR’s first operational project in the state of Wisconsin and represents a capital investment of approximately $167 million (an estimate based on the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2015 Wind Technologies Market Report). At the peak of construction in early June, the project employed approximately 250 people, and as an operational wind farm, will employ 10 full-time workers.
EDP Renewables has made more than $1.8 million in payments to local landowners since 2003 and will provide a total of approximately $23 million in land payments to participating landowners and neighbors throughout the life of the project. Through a revenue sharing agreement with the state of Wisconsin, EDPR will also pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars to Seymour Township and Lafayette County each year.
“EDP Renewables is proud to expand its operational presence into the Badger State and bring a number of environmental and economic benefits to Wisconsin and surrounding states through its Quilt Block Wind Farm,” said Steve Irvin, Executive Vice President – Central and Western Regions and Mexico. “EDPR is pleased to partner with Dairyland Power Cooperative to bring clean, renewable energy to local farmers and rural communities.”
“The Quilt Block Wind Farm is a key component of Dairyland’s strategic imperative of Resource Diversification,” said Barbara Nick, Dairyland President and CEO. “Thousands of homes in our cooperative system will be powered with safe and sustainable wind energy from Quilt Block for years to come.”