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Shell Renewables Helps Bring 50-Megawatt Wind Farm Online

[Daily News] Four months after breaking ground, 50 one-megawatt wind turbines line the northern reaches of the Foote Creek Rim, Wyoming, and have started delivering clean, renewable wind power.
The wind farm is owned by Rock River I, LLC, a subsidiary of Shell WindEnergy Inc., and was developed and constructed by SeaWest WindPower, Inc. The Rock River I facility exemplifies the possibilities in bringing new wind generation online quickly and efficiently.

Rock River I is the first major investment by Shell into the U.S. wind market and represents a major step in achieving Shell Renewables' wind energy strategy by moving from experimental to commercial scale. More than 1,000 megawatts of wind energy projects are currently being progressed by Shell in the U.S., Europe and North Africa.

PacifiCorp -- one of the leading developers of renewable power in the western U.S. -- has a 20-year agreement to purchase the entire output of the project from the Rock River I wind energy operation. The new facility will produce enough clean energy for more than 13,000 average homes in the West -- while offsetting approximately 164,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year.

For PacifiCorp, the Rock River I project fulfills a commitment the company made at the time of its merger with ScottishPower to bring significant new renewable energy resources online for its customers. The power is a part of PacifiCorp's regulated energy portfolio. PacifiCorp operates as Pacific Power in Oregon, Washington, California and Wyoming, and as Utah Power in Idaho and Utah.

"We are delighted to see this project up and running. Wyoming, and indeed the U.S., has huge potential for wind energy and we intend to become a major player in the wind energy market here," said David Jones, director of Shell WindEnergy. "Wind energy is the fastest growing area of power generation worldwide and the U.S. is an important part of our growth strategy in this area."

The project represents another significant step forward in PacifiCorp's aim to bring 1,000 mw of new renewable generation online by 2005.

Shell Renewables is part of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of companies, and was established to develop commercial opportunities in solar and wind energy.

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Daily Oil Bulletin | JuneWarren-Nickle's Energy Group

Daily Oil Bulletin | JuneWarren-Nickle's Energy Group