ALLETE Clean Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of ALLETE, Inc., announced the start of commercial operations at its Diamond Spring wind site in southern Oklahoma, USA.
The output from the 303‐megawatt Diamond Spring site is contracted to provide renewable energy to Walmart, Smithfield Foods and Starbucks though separate renewable energy sales agreements with 12‐15 year terms. Diamond Spring is ALLETE Clean Energy’s largest wind site, producing enough energy to power about 114,000 homes and increasing the company’s total wind capacity to more than 1,000 megawatts.
Kraig Westerbeek, senior director of Smithfield Renewables for Smithfield Foods, said: “With the completion of the Diamond Spring project, the wind energy generated from this site will account for what is needed to power more than 15 percent of our total
U.S. operations, marking a significant step forward in achieving our goals.”