Press Releases
10/31/2019
Iberdrola Renewables Announces Additional Blue Creek Wind Farm Customer
Iberdrola Renewables Announces Additional Blue Creek Wind Farm Customer
Ohio State University to power 25% of Columbus campus with wind while Blue Creek becomes largest single taxpayer in local county.
Click Here for a PDF version of this press release.
April 9, 2013
PORTLAND, Ore. — Iberdrola Renewables announced Ohio State University, in its ongoing efforts to become a carbon neutral campus, has purchased 50 megawatts (MW) from its Blue Creek Wind Farm, located in Van Wert and Paulding counties in Ohio.
“This commitment to wind energy is a great example of Ohio State’s leadership in sustainability issues,” said Ron Sega, vice president and enterprise executive for energy and environment. “In addition to supporting renewable energy, this wind purchase provides us with about $1 million in annual savings for two years over what we would have spent with the standard tariffed rate.”
Blue Creek will now pay approximately $2 million in annual lease payments to local landowners, and $2.7 million in annual payments to local taxing bodies. In Van Wert County, where 75 percent of Blue Creek is located, Iberdrola Renewables will be the largest single taxpayer — larger than the next 14 businesses combined.
“Our Blue Creek project will deliver substantial local economic benefits for years,” said Martín Múgica, president and CEO of Iberdrola Renewables, LLC. “It’s also a smart and affordable choice for Ohio St. University, that brings clean, renewable power to an institution committed to protecting the environment and diversifying their energy portfolio. We commend all of our partners for recognizing the tremendous economic benefits that wind power generates.”
Even before the plant became operational, building Blue Creek contributed more than 500 construction jobs, $25 million in local spending, and put more than 30 Ohio companies to work on this project. Blue Creek represented a $600 million investment — Ohio’s largest in 2011. The Blue Creek Wind Farm [video, photos, fact sheet] consists of 152 Gamesa, 2-MW wind turbines, primarily manufactured and assembled in Wisconsin, Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and North Dakota. Those turbines are located in the Tully, Union, and Hoaglin townships of Van Wert County, Ohio; and the Benton, Blue Creek, and Latty townships of Paulding County, Ohio.
The Blue Creek Wind Farm offsets carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 1.6 billion pounds per year. That is equivalent to the volume of 158 Ohio Stadiums, or to planting about 138,000 acres of trees, or of taking 114,000 cars off the road. It also equates to not consuming about 2.1 million barrels of oil.
Iberdrola Renewables, LLC is the U.S. renewable energy division of parent company IBERDROLA, S.A., an energy pioneer with the largest renewable asset base of any company in the world. Iberdrola Renewables, LLC is headquartered in Portland, Ore., and has nearly $10 billion of operating assets including more than 5,700 MW of wind generation.
Contacts:
Art Sasse, Director, Communications & Brand, Iberdrola Renewables, 503-796-7740
Paul Copleman, Media Relations, Iberdrola Renewables, 207-641-2805
Additional Resources
May 16, 2011: Iberdrola Renewables Funds Wind Technician Training in Ohio
February 8, 2011: Iberdrola Renewables and FirstEnergy Solutions Sign Agreement for Largest Wind Power Project in Ohio
January 14, 2011: Van Wert County Celebrates New Year with New Funding
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $44 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens. In 2024, Avangrid ranked first among utilities and 12 overall. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2024 for the sixth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
About Iberdrola: Iberdrola is one of the world's biggest energy companies and a leader in renewables, spearheading the energy transition to a low carbon economy. The group supplies energy to almost 100 million people in dozens of countries. With a focus on renewable energy, smart networks and smart solutions for customers, Iberdrola’s main markets include Europe (Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. The company is also present in growth markets such as Japan, Taiwan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland, among others.
With a workforce of nearly 40,000 and assets in excess of €141.7 billion, across the world, Iberdrola helps to support 400,000 jobs across its supply chain, with annual procurement of €12.2 billion. A benchmark in the fight against climate change, Iberdrola has invested more than €130 billion over the past two decades to help build a sustainable energy model, based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.
