Harvest Ridge Wind Farm is Generating Clean Energy in Douglas County

EDP Renewables’ wind farm has significantly contributed to Illinois’s economy and environment

Newman, IL, July 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EDP Renewables’ (EDPR) 200 megawatt (MW) Harvest Ridge Wind Farm has finished construction and is now fully operational and producing clean electricity in Douglas County. Harvest Ridge and EDPR’s other six operational Illinois wind farms cumulatively produce enough clean energy to power approximately 412,000 average Illinois homes each year. 

"I've worked on four of EDPR’s wind farms in Illinois and have seen the benefits we bring to the communities who host our projects,” said Mike Duffy, who recently moved to Douglas County to work as the Lead Technician at the Harvest Ridge Wind Farm. “Harvest Ridge will contribute more than $2 million dollars in taxes each year to support local public services including the Villa Grove school district where my kid attends. These are real dollars that make a real impact, and I’m proud to be a part of bringing this clean energy opportunity to the area.

Harvest Ridge Wind Farm will provide numerous benefits to Douglas County and its local communities. Over the life of the project, Harvest Ridge will contribute up to $50 million in taxes to support local public services such as schools, roads, fire districts, libraries and others. The wind farm will also provide a stable form of income to local landowners who have leased land to EDPR to host the wind farm infrastructure. More than 250 people worked on the construction of the wind farm, and 10 full-time employees will continue to operate and maintain the turbines throughout the project’s lifecycle.

In addition to boosting the local economy, Harvest Ridge will positively contribute to the environment by saving more than 355 million gallons of water each year and displacing carbon emissions from fossil fuel power plants, which are a major contributor to climate change.

Through long-term power purchase agreements (PPA), Wabash Valley Power Alliance (WVPA), Walmart, and a private offtaker purchase 100 MW, 50 MW, and 50 MW, respectively, of the wind farm’s capacity.

“The acquisition of this 100 MW share of the Harvest Ridge Wind Farm allows Wabash Valley Power Alliance to further enable the production and development of renewable energy,” said WVPA’s Executive Vice President of Risk and Resource, Lee Wilmes. “For many of us in the industry, alternative energy is no longer an alternative. EDPR has been an important partner to WVPA and our membership in diversifying our power supply while creating opportunities for companies to purchase green power.”