Bitter Ridge Wind Farm, Indiana

Bitter Ridge wind farm is a 130MW project located in Indiana, US, developed by Scout Clean Energy, a renewable energy company based in the US.

The electricity generated by the wind farm will be sufficient to power approximately 50,000 homes.

With the commencement of commercial operations at Bitter Ridge, Scout Clean Energy’s operational onshore wind energy generation increased to 843MW across the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection (PJM), and Southwest Power Pool (SPP) power markets.

The wind project is estimated to offset more than 292,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year and more than ten million metric tonnes over its operational life, as per the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) greenhouse gas equivalency calculator.

Further, the facility’s production will offset the CO₂ emissions from the electricity usage of 49,430 Hoosier homes a year.

Bitter Ridge wind farm location and economic benefits

The new wind farm is developed on approximately 10,000 acres of land in Jay County, Indiana. The location has favourable wind conditions, which are being tapped through advanced turbine technology.

It will deliver more than $18m in tax revenues to the county during its operation life. Scout Clean Energy will pay approximately $13.7m in property taxes over the wind farm’s 25-year lifespan.

The project developers reached a tax incentive agreement with Jay County under which the project will make economic development payments to the tune of $1.56m.

Bitter Ridge wind farm development details

Bitter Ridge wind farm initially faced opposition from local group STOP Jay County Wind Farms, due to which a temporary moratorium was enforced on the project. It was later approved by the Jay County plan commission and was awarded a ten-year tax abatement by Jay County council.

Scout Clean Energy commenced the greenfield development of the wind farm in 2016 and began construction in August 2019, upon receiving all the permits.

The construction financing and tax equity commitments for the wind farm were closed in December 2019. The wind farm entered the final phase of construction in May 2020, which included the installation of turbines, electrical cables, and overhead transmission lines.

Turbine details and infrastructure

Installed with 52 advanced GE 2.82MW wind turbines, the wind farm is Scout’s fourth utility-scale wind project.

The power generated from the windfarm is collected at an adjacent facility and then transported to the Jay substation located east of Dunkirk.

The wind farm’s operation centre, which is located on county road 700 West, houses four full-time employees.

Power purchase agreement

Bitter Ridge wind project employed approximately 200 personnel during its development and construction phase. It is supported by a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Constellation, an Exelon company, for the supply of 80% of the renewable energy generated.

Contractors involved

Scout signed an agreement with Mortenson Construction for the balance-of-plant construction of Bitter Ridge wind farm. It placed a purchase order with General Electric for the delivery of wind turbines for the wind farm.

McDermott Will & Emery and Paragon Energy Capital were responsible for advising Scout on the debt and tax equity financing transactions of the wind power project.

Other companies involved in the project include KeyBanc Capital Markets, CoBank, ACB, Rabobank, and BHE Renewables.