Cedar Creek Wind Farm Explained

Cedar Creek Wind Farm I & II
Coordinates:40.8711°N -104.0931°W
Location:13km E of Grover, Colorado, United States
Status:Operational
Construction Began:2007
Commissioned:21 November 2007
Cost:US$480 million
Owner:Cedar Creek I - ArcLight Capital
Cedar Creek II - BP Wind Energy (50%) & Sempra Generation (50%))
Operator:Cedar Creek I - Infigen Energy
Cedar Creek II - BP Wind Energy
Ps Units Operational:397 - Total
274 - Cedar Creek I
123 - Cedar Creek II
Ps Units Manu Model:Mitsubishi, GE, Nordex
221x 1MW Mitsubishi MWT-1000
53x 1.5MW GE 1.5s/sle
63x 1.6MW GE
60x 2.5MW Nordex
Wind Farm Type:Onshore
Ps Site Elevation:1674m
Ps Electrical Capacity:551.3MW - Total
300.5MW - Cedar Creek I
250.8MW - Cedar Creek II
Ps Electrical Cap Fac:31.5% (average 2011-2020)
Ps Annual Generation:1,522 GW·h

The Cedar Creek Wind Farm is a 551.3 megawatt (MW) wind farm located about 8 miles east of the town of Grover in north-central Weld County, Colorado. It consists of 397 wind turbines and was constructed in two phases, Cedar Creek I and Cedar Creek II, becoming fully operational in 2010. The electricity is sold to the Public Service Company of Colorado.

Details

The initial 300.5 MW Cedar Creek I installation was completed on time, within budget, and without incident - with the operation commencing on 21 November 2007. Cedar Creek I is an important contributor to Colorado's New Energy Economy, providing enough wind-powered electricity for 81,135 homes.[1] Cedar Creek II has an additional 250.8 MW of generating capacity, and was commissioned in 2010.

The first phase has 221 1 MW wind turbines from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and 53 1.5 MW turbines from General Electric.[2] The second phase has an additional 63 1.6 MW SLE turbines from General Electric, and 60 2.5 MW from German wind turbine supplier Nordex.

Cedar Creek I is currently owned by ArcLight Capital.[3] Cedar Creek II is owned by BP Wind Energy (50%) and Sempra Generation (50%).[4]

Electricity from Cedar Creek II reaches the grid through approximately 20 miles of new transmission lines that connect to the Cedar Creek I substation. From there, the project utilizes an existing 76-mile (230kV) transmission line to deliver the electrical power. The Cedar Creek II project employed some 350 workers during peak construction, and some 19 jobs have been created to monitor and maintain the facility.

Electricity production

Cedar Creek Electricity Generation (MW·h)
Year Cedar Creek 1
(300.5 MW Unit) [5]
Cedar Creek 2
(250.8 MW Unit) [6]
Total Annual MW·h
2007106,803 - 106,803
2008972,787 - 972,787
2009913,282 - 913,282
2010841,206 - 841,206
2011891,305 508,691 1,399,996
2012837,374 801,121 1,638,495
2013879,922 811,375 1,691,297
2014842,744 758,709 1,601,453
2015744,451 654,254 1,398,705
2016852,867 751,628 1,604,495
2017794,301 713,395 1,507,696
2018813,126 713,6111,526,737
2019707,748 661,0891,368,837
2020787,016 694,4411,481,457
2021516,379 476,740993,119
Average Annual Production (years 2011–2020) : 1,521,917
Average Capacity Factor (years 2011–2020) : 31.5%

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://docs.google.com/open?id=10m3pLxAS6CWSaBz1Bkg0BwxKcMEKaBigrppgNFAzdfHIYpE0CtDt_duiKCQW Cedar Creek Wind Farm I Project Info PDF
  2. http://www.power-technology.com/projects/cedarcreek/ Cedar Creek Wind Farm page, power-technology.com
  3. Web site: ArcLight Capital buys out 301-MW Colorado wind park . renewablesnow.com . 3 June 2016.
  4. Web site: The Cedar Creek 2 Wind Farm Weld County, Colorado. BP website. BP. 29 October 2013.
  5. Web site: Cedar Creek 1, Annual . Electricity Data Browser . . January 8, 2023.
  6. Web site: Cedar Creek 2, Annual . Electricity Data Browser . . January 8, 2023.