Liberty Utilities Wins Missouri Approval for 600 Megawatts of Wind Projects

The Missouri Public Service Commission granted permits for The Empire District Electric Company’s proposal to build three wind farms with a combined capacity of up to 600 megawatts in Missouri and Kansas, according to a June 20 press release. The projects, which represent an investment of over $1 billion, will facilitate customer savings by using federal tax incentives in conjunction with tax equity partnership.

The commission found that the benefits from the tax equity partnership structure can result in $169 million of savings to customers over the company’s 20-year integrated resource plan and up to $295 million over 30 years. The projects would provide a replacement for expiring wind power contracts as Empire would have control over the generation facilities, and continue to provide value for their expected lifetime, which is longer than the typical 20-year term of power purchase agreements.

The proposed portfolio consists of two projects of size 150 megawatts each, which would be constructed in Barton, Dade, Jasper, and Lawrence counties in Missouri, and a 300 megawatt project in Neosho County, Kansas. The company plans to begin construction in the fall of 2019 and complete the projects by the end of 2020.

Empire District Electric is a subsidiary of Liberty Utilities Co.