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    TransAlta Achieves Commercial Operation at 300 MW White Rock Wind Facilities in Oklahoma

    April 29, 2024
    The White Rock wind facilities are fully contracted to Amazon Energy and are currently supplying clean and affordable electricity to TransAlta customers
    TransAlta Corporation
    662fb17ef8d9ab001e82cac9 Transalta Corporation

    TransAlta Corporation has achieved commercial operation of the combined 300 MW White Rock East and White Rock West wind facilities (White Rock) in Caddo County, Oklahoma. 

    The White Rock wind facilities are fully contracted to Amazon Energy and are currently supplying clean and affordable electricity to TransAlta customers. TransAlta’s portfolio in the US totals 820 MW in net operating renewable energy capacity.

    “As I look ahead, we are nearing completion of our other Oklahoma wind project, which will add another 200 MW facility, increasing our US portfolio to more than 1 GW, another key milestone for our company,” said Mr. John Kousinioris, President and Chief Executive Officer of TransAlta.

    White Rock includes a total of 51 Vestas wind turbines and is the first of the company’s two wind projects in Oklahoma to achieve commercial operations. The company entered a 10-year transfer agreement with an AA-rated customer to sell approximately 80% of the expected production tax credits (PTCs) generated from the White Rock wind facilities. The remaining PTCs are expected to be sold through spot transactions or contracted at a later date.

    The project highlights include:

    Long-term contracted revenues from Amazon

    10-year transfer agreement of PTCs, which are subject to an annual inflation adjustment factor, with an AA-rated third-party customer

    49 Vestas V162 6.0 MW and 2 Vestas V136 3.45 MW turbines: 119 meters and 105 meters in height with total rotor diameters of 162 meters and 136 meters, respectively

    Estimated average annual adjusted EBITDA ranges between $53 and $57 million, including third-party sales of PTCs

    TransAlta weighted-average contract life of renewables portfolio increased to 12 years

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.