How much experience does AEP have with wind generation?
A. AEP is a pioneer in wind power research. In 1995, the company built the first utility-scale wind farm in Texas, located in far West Texas near Fort Davis (a research project that was retired in early 2004 after providing valuable information and experience in dealing with wind power technologies). The company also identified the site for the 75-MW Southwest Mesa wind farm. Southwest Mesa was the first wind power project in the same area where Desert Sky is located. AEP owns the majority of the property at the site and the former retail affiliates of AEP purchase all of Southwest Mesa’s wind power output from FPL, the company that owns and operates the turbines. (See more on Southwest Mesa.) In addition to Desert Sky, AEP built, owns and oversees the operation of the 150-megawatt (150,000-kilowatt) Trent Wind Farm near Abilene, Texas.
