Traverse Wind Farm Now Serving PSO Customers

  • Traverse Wind Farm Now Serving PSO Customers
    Traverse Wind Farm Now Serving PSO Customers

TULSA — Traverse, the largest wind farm built at one time in North America and one of three new wind facilities providing clean energy to Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) customers, has begun commercial operations.

The 998-megawatt (MW) Traverse facility in Blaine and Custer Counties is part of the 1,484-MW North Central Energy Facilities (NCEF) project. All three wind farm facilities have cold-weather packages, which will increase performance during extreme weather.

“PSO customers expect clean, renewable energy to be part of our energy mix, and the completion of this wind farm delivers on our commitment to meet those needs,” said PSO President and Chief Operating Officer Peggy Simmons. “This investment in Oklahoma will save our customers approximately $1 billion during thetime the facilities are in service and will help mitigate the impact of spikes in market prices.”

If the fuel-free NCEF project had been fully online during the winter storm of February 2021, over $200 million in savings could’ve been realized.

In addition to the 356-turbine Traverse facility, the NCEF project includes the 199-MW Sundance wind farm, which began commercial operation in April 2021, and the 287-MW Maverick wind farm, which began commercial operation in September 2021. In total, the facilities will generate enough energy to power 440,000 homes. PSO will receive 675 MW from the NCEF project. Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) will receive 809 MW.

The NCEF projects were developed by Invenergy and purchased by PSO and SWEPCO at completion. PSO and SWEPCO are local operating companies of American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP).

Through PSO’s WindChoice program, customers can opt for up to 100% of their power to come from Oklahoma-generated wind power Renewable Energy Certificates representing the environmental benefits of wind. For more information, go to: www.psoklahoma.com/win dchoice.

About PSO

PSO, a unit of American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP), is an electric utility company serving more than 562,000 customer accounts in eastern and southwestern Oklahoma. Based in Tulsa, PSO has approximately 3,800 megawatts of generating capacity fueled primarily by natural gas, 22-thousand miles of distribution lines and 37-hundred miles of transmission lines. PSO also is one of the largest distributors of wind energy in the state. News releases and other information is at www.PSOklahoma.com. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, NextDoor and Instagram @PSOklahoma.