Meadow Lake Wind Farm Explained

Meadow Lake Wind Farm
Location Map Caption:Location of Meadow Lake Wind Farm in Indiana
Country:United States
Location:Chalmers, Indiana
Coordinates:40.6011°N -86.8658°W
Status:O
Commissioned:2009
Owner:EDP Renewables North America
Wind Farm Type:Onshore
Ps Units Operational:414 turbines
Ps Electrical Capacity:801 MW
Ps Electrical Cap Fac:25.5% (average 2011-2018)
Ps Annual Generation:approx. 1,900 GW·h

Meadow Lake Wind Farm is an 801.25 megawatt (MW) wind farm near Brookston and Chalmers, Indiana, spreading over portions of White, Jasper, and Benton Counties. It is owned and operated by EDP Renewables North America. The facility currently has six operational phases, with 414 turbines, and is a prominent feature on both sides of Interstate 65 in western Indiana.[1]

Phase I

Phase I consists of 121 Vestas V82-1.65 MW wind turbines, for a total nameplate capacity of 199.65 MW.[2] Groundbreaking ceremonies occurred on April 14, 2009.[3] Phase I became operational in October 2009.[4]

Horizon built a substation next to an existing AEP substation which was already within the wind farm site area. This allowed the wind farm to connect to the power grid without the need to build lengthy new transmission line at a cost of $1 million per mile.[5]

Phase II

Meadow Lake II Wind Farm has an installed capacity of 99 MW – enough to power approximately 27,000 average Indiana homes with clean energy. The wind farm, which consists of 66 Acciona AWs-1.5 MW turbines, achieved commercial operation in June 2010.[6]

Phase III

Meadow Lake III Wind Farm has an installed capacity of 103.5 MW – enough to power approximately 28,000 average Indiana homes with clean energy. The wind farm, which consists of 69 GE Energy SLE-1.5 MW turbines, achieved commercial operation in October 2010.[6]

Phase IV

Meadow Lake IV Wind Farm has an installed capacity of 98.7 MW – enough to power approximately 27,000 average Indiana homes with clean energy. The wind farm, which achieved commercial operation in October 2010, consists of 47 Suzlon S88-2.1 MW turbines.[6]

Phases V and VI

Meadow Lake V and VI have installed capacities of 100 MW and 200.4 MW, respectively. Phase V came fully online in 2018 and consists of 50 Vestas V110-2.0 MW turbines.[7] Phase VI came fully online in 2019 and consists of 61 turbines (12 Vestas V110-2.0 MW wind turbines and 49 Vestas V136-3.6 MW) that include some of the tallest and most powerful in the state.[8]

Future expansion

In early 2010, an EDP Renewables representative and local renewable energy advocates scouted the Meadow Lake project area for a location to build a visitor center. One possibility was an unused building near the intersection of I-65 and US-231 (40.6677°N -87.0407°W), near where a wind turbine will be installed within the next year.[5]

Environmental impact

At a planned ultimate nameplate capacity of 1000 MW, EDP Renewables North America claims that Meadow Lake would be one of the largest wind farms in the world. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that such facilities would generate enough electricity to power about 250,000 homes,[3] annually saving 1,684 million gallons of water and eliminating 3.1 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.[9] Horizon further estimates that Phases I and II should eliminate just under one million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.[4]

Phase I spreads over 26000acres a ten by six mile area since large wind turbines must be spaced at least 5 to 10 rotor diameters apart to avoid wind shadowing. Most of the land between turbines remains productive farmland; only about 250acres of farmland have been taken out of production by the 121 turbines.[5]

Electricity production

Meadow Lake Wind Farm Generation (MW·h)
Year Phase I
199.65 MW [10]
Phase II
99 MW [11]
Phase III
103.5 MW [12]
Phase IV
98.7 MW [13]
Phase V
100 MW [14]
Phase VI
200.4 MW [15]
Total Annual MW·h
2009133,615* - - - - - 133,615
2010487,991 129,475* 96,145* 67,139* - -780,750
2011471,979 257,837 262,413 221,902 - -1,214,131
2012466,874 249,120 257,788 214,956 - -1,188,738
2013477,611 180,188 183,092 143,785 - -984,676
2014495,416 161,358 170,177 134,214 - -961,165
2015512,009 222,262 238,493 188,468 - -1,161,232
2016467,962 248,764 266,678 206,549 - -1,189,953
2017445,549 252,547 246,972 193,258 134,859* -1,237,185
2018446,822 235,645 243,320 192,074 322,909 48,566*1,489,336
2019475,363 250,044 271,061 206,423 344,064 607,9962,154,951
2020454,807 241,687 259,528 187,807 327,008 619,7192,090,556
2021413,434 219,655 233,781 168,130 324,254 598,9361,958,190
2022460,692 245,956 278,766 202,332 349,662 671,6262,209,034
Average Annual Production (phases 1–4, years 2011-2018) ---> 1,119,510
Average Capacity Factor (phases 1–4, years 2011-2018) ---> 25.5%
(*) partial year of operation

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Indiana State Fact Sheet . February 2018 . meadowlakewindfarm.com.
  2. Web site: Meadow Lake Wind Farm - Official website . March 24, 2019.
  3. Web site: Groundbreaking held for ambitious White County wind farm . Max . Showalter . . 2009-04-15 . 2010-03-15.
  4. Web site: New wind farm operating in White County; Meadow Lake Wind Farm phase I complete . 2009-10-23 . 2010-03-15 . Julie . Krizen . . https://web.archive.org/web/20091027014859/http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/local_wlfi_whitecounty_new_windfarm_operating_in_white_county_20091023# . 2009-10-27 . dead .
  5. Web site: Wind farms are changing Indiana's rural landscape . . 2010-03-16 . 2010-03-03 . Richards . Rick A..
  6. Web site: What we have done . Horizon Wind Energy . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100109041859/http://www.horizonwind.com/projects/whatwevedone/ . 2010-01-09 .
  7. Web site: Meadow Lake V . thewindpower.net . March 24, 2019.
  8. Web site: Meadow Lake VI began sending power to the grid this week . December 20, 2018 . cummins.com.
  9. Web site: Economic Benefits, Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions Reductions, and Water Conservation Benefits from 1,000 Megawatts (MW) of New Wind Power in Indiana . Eric . Lantz . Tegen, Suzanne . PDF, 503kB . . May 2008 . 2010-03-17 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100528052233/http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/pdfs/economic_development/2008/in_wind_benefits_factsheet.pdf . 2010-05-28 .
  10. Web site: Meadow Lake (I), Annual . Electricity Data Browser . . March 25, 2019.
  11. Web site: Meadow Lake II, Annual . Electricity Data Browser . . March 25, 2019.
  12. Web site: Meadow Lake III, Annual . Electricity Data Browser . . March 25, 2019.
  13. Web site: Meadow Lake IV, Annual . Electricity Data Browser . . March 25, 2019.
  14. Web site: Meadow Lake V, Annual . Electricity Data Browser . . March 25, 2019.
  15. Web site: Meadow Lake VI, Annual . Electricity Data Browser . . March 25, 2019.