Part of the buzz in Texas County is word of what is said to become the second largest wind power field in the world. A wind farm purported to be able to produce 2,000 megawatts of electricity, it will be the beginnings of an energy generation field only overshadowed by the first largest - the 6,000 megawatt Gansu Wind Farm in China. The Wind Catcher project will be the largest in the United States.
The big news isn't just the sheer size of the project, but how quickly it may be in place - by 2021, according to PREDCI Executive Director Mike Shannon.
This news comes with some major logistical matters to come with it, including where more than 3,500 contractors will stay during construction, and what kind of impact those numbers could have in the smaller towns in the Oklahoma Panhandle. With those matters firmly in mind, Shannon has arranged meetings and presentations between community leaders and the major players involved in this project to clarify what is expected to happen.
This $4.5 billion investment, the Wind Catcher Energy project, already has at least one utility provider buying in, and is expected to bring a stable energy supply to people on Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. Public Service Company of Oklahoma is expected to purchase 600 megawatts of power from the field, offering customers a savings of over $2 billion over the 25 years the wind farm is expected to be in service.
For more details, see Saturday's edition of the Guymon Daily Herald
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