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May 29, 2008
Dominion, BP Welcome Gov. Mitch Daniels to Indiana's Largest Wind Farm
RICHMOND, Va. – Dominion (NYSE: D) and BP Alternative
Energy today welcomed Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels at a project recognition and
wind turbine blade signing ceremony to commemorate the construction of the Fowler
Ridge Wind Farm in Benton County, Ind. When it becomes fully operational, the
wind farm will be one of the largest wind-power facilities in the world and
will generate enough carbon-free electricity to power more than 200,000 average
American homes.
Gov. Daniels, who was joined by other state and local elected
officials, landowners and community leaders, said, "Indiana is becoming
a leader in clean energy production, including wind, clean coal technology,
biofuels and other alternatives. America needs more homegrown energy from every
source, and the greener the better."
Located about 90 miles northwest of Indianapolis, the project
will be built in multiple phases. The first phase will utilize 222 wind turbines
– 182 Vestas V-82 1.65-megawatt turbines and 40 Clipper C-96 2.5-megawatt
turbines – producing 400 megawatts of clean energy and is expected to
be operational by the end of 2008. Dominion and BP are partners for 650 megawatts
of the 750-megawatt site, with BP retaining sole ownership of 100 megawatts.
Phase II is expected to generate an additional 350 megawatts, bringing the total
project output to 750 megawatts. Construction of a second phase could begin
as early as 2009.
Said Thomas F. Farrell II, Dominion’s chairman, president
and chief executive officer:
"The Fowler Ridge project is a vital part of Dominion’s
growing portfolio of wind and other renewable generation. It also is an important
part of our growing presence in the Midwest, where we have more than 3,500 megawatts
of generation capacity in operation or under development."
Bob Malone, chairman and president of BP America, said:
"The Fowler Ridge Wind Farm is just one example of BP’s
continuing effort to expand and diversify U.S. energy supply. This year we will
invest more than $6 billion in U.S. energy projects with about 10 percent going
to wind and solar power and biofuels research. By year end, we’ll have
a thousand megawatts of wind power on line with plans to double that in two
years."
The Fowler Ridge Wind Farm will provide substantial benefits
to the community, including new sources of revenue to local landowners, providers
of goods and services, and taxing bodies. In addition, the project will create
new jobs. Phase I of the Fowler Ridge Wind Farm is expected to employ approximately
350 workers during peak construction and a full-time staff of more than 12 workers
who will monitor and maintain the site after Phase I has become fully operational.
Power from Phase I of the development is under three long-term
contracts, two each for 100 megawatts with Indiana Michigan Power and Appalachian
Power, both subsidiaries of American Electric Power (AEP), and one contract
with Dominion Energy Marketing, a subsidiary of Dominion, for 200 megawatts.
About Dominion
Dominion is one of the nation’s largest producers and transporters of
energy, with a portfolio of approximately 26,500 megawatts of generation, 1.1
trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas and oil reserves and 14,000
miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline. Dominion
also owns the nation’s largest underground natural gas storage system
and operates more than 975 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves
retail energy customers in 11 states.
Its renewable portfolio includes nearly 1,300 megawatts under
development or in operation. This includes more than 750 megawatts of wind energy:
325 megawatts from Fowler Ridge, 132 megawatts from a joint development with
Shell WindEnergy in Grant County, W.Va., and 300 megawatts from Dominion’s
Prairie Fork Wind Farm in Central Illinois.
For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web
site at http://www.dom.com.
About BP Alternative Energy/BP America
BP Alternative Energy, launched in November 2005, combines all of BP’s
interests in low and zero-carbon energy including wind, solar, hydrogen power
with carbon capture and storage, natural gas-fired power generation, biofuels
for low carbon transport and distributed energy for emerging markets. BP Alternative
Energy is one of the leading wind developers in the U.S. with a wind portfolio
that includes the opportunity to develop almost 100 projects and a potential
total generating capacity of 15,000 megawatts. The company currently has a total
of five wind projects under construction in California, Indiana, Kansas and
Texas. By the end of 2008, it’s expected that over 1,000 megawatts of
wind projects developed by BP Alternative Energy North America will be in operation.
BP America is the largest producer of oil and gas in the United
States and one of the nation’s largest energy investors. For more information,
visit the company’s Web sites at http://www.bpalternativenergy.com
and http://www.bp.com/us.
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