Duke Energy Acquires Wind Farm In Eastern US

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Power generator Duke Energy Corp. on Thursday said it is acquiring a 70-megawatt wind power project in Pennsylvania, the company's first in the eastern U.S.

The company will buy the North Allegheny Windpower Project from wind turbine manufacturer and project developer Gamesa Energy USA Inc., based in Philadelphia. The project, located in Blair and Cabria counties, Pa., about 95 miles east of Pittsburgh, consists of 35 Gamesa wind turbines, each capable of producing 2 megawatts of electricity. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Construction of the wind power project is nearing completion and the acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter, the company said.

Duke added that the acquisition comes with a 23.5 year power purchase agreement to sell all of the output from the wind farm and associated renewable energy credits to FirstEnergy Corp., which has about 4.5 million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

With the nation's focus on renewable energy sources to help address climate change and ease its dependence on foreign oil, more energy companies have been expanding in this area. Duke has more than 500 megawatts of wind-powered generation in operation, a figure that will rise to more than 700 MW by the end of the year, it said. The Charlotte, N.C., company said it has an additional 5,000 MW in potential wind energy development projects.

Shares of Duke fell 6 cents to $13.36 in morning trading.