Enel purchases 320 MW wind farm to power Facebook

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Enel Green Power North America, Inc. (EGPNA), the U.S. renewable energy company of the Enel Group, has started construction of the Rattlesnake Creek wind farm in the United States. Once completed, Rattlesnake Creek will have a total installed capacity of 320 MW and will be Enel’s first wind farm in the state of Nebraska.

EGPNA acquired the project from Tradewind Energy, their long-term strategic development partner, headquartered in Kansas.

Investment in the construction of Rattlesnake Creek amounts to an approximate  US$430 million and is part of the investment outlined in the Enel Group’s current strategic plan. The project is financed through the Enel Group’s own resources.

A 200 MW portion of the power and renewable energy credits from Rattlesnake Creek will be sold to Facebook under a bundled, long-term power purchase agreement. The wind energy will supply 100% of the power needed to operate Facebook’s new data centre in Papillion, Nebraska, located about 120 miles from the Rattlesnake Creek wind project.

The facility is owned by Rattlesnake Creek Wind Project, LLC, a subsidiary of EGPNA, and is located in Dixon County, Nebraska. Once fully operational, Rattlesnake Creek will be able to generate around 1.3 TWh annually, enough energy to meet the equivalent annual consumption needs of more than 105,000 U.S. households, while avoiding the emission of around 940,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.

Antonio Cammisecra, Head of Enel Green Power said:

“This project consolidates our growing presence in the US as our company enters into a new state and expands our business with new partners.”

“We are thrilled to be able to support Facebook’s growing renewable energy needs in Nebraska and be a part of driving economic development in the region.”

Bobby Hollis, Director of Global Energy at Facebook added:

"We know from experience that when people come together, they can do a lot of good in the world."

"We came together with the Omaha Public Power District, Tradewind Energy, and now, Enel Green Power, to ensure renewable energy solutions are accessible not just to Facebook, but to other companies as well. Today, we are one step closer to our goal of powering all of our operations with clean and renewable energy, and we are grateful to our partners for this collaboration." 

EGPNA, part of the Renewable Energies division of the Enel Group, is a leading owner and operator of renewable energy plants in North America with projects operating and under development in 23 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. EGPNA operates around 100 plants with a managed capacity exceeding 3.6 GW powered by renewable hydropower, wind, geothermal and solar energy. 

We have recently reported about several wind energy projects in the USA:

• 25 MW Big Timber Wind project in Montana
• 66 MW wind farm near Saratoga in Howard County
• 7 MW Creston Ridge wind expansion project
• 800 MW wind project in Southwest Missouri
• 250 MW Willow Springs wind project in Haskell County
• 340 MW North English Wind Project in Iowa
• 12 MW Aqua Ventus I offshore wind park in Monhegan Island
• 150 MW Rocksprings wind farm in Texas
• 100 MW Northwest Ohio Wind project in Van Wert and Paulding Counties