Mill Run Windpower LLC

The 15 MW Mill Run Wind Project was initiated by Atlantic Renewable with Zilkha Renewable Energy brought in as a co-development partner. The project is owned and operated by FPL Energy LLC and went into commercial operation in mid October 2001. In the following you will find an extensive project description.

The site is located in eastern Fayette County, approximately 3 ½ miles east of the Town of Mill Run. The site extends for approximately 1.2 miles along Laurel Ridge. A portion of the site is located in Stewart Township, a portion in Springfield Township.

The Mill Run Wind Project occupies one of the best proven wind sites in Pennsylvania. In 1998, Springhouse Energy Systems, Inc. and Conservation Consultants, Inc., performing a statewide wind resource assessment program, selected the Mill Run site as a candidate wind power site. The site has many advantages with respect to wind power development. The elevation of the site ranges between 2700 and 2900 feet. Most of the site is free of trees, which negatively affect wind speeds. The site is used as pasture; which is fully compatible with wind power development. A state highway crosses the site, providing good access for project construction.

In 1999 and 2000, Atlantic Renewable Energy entered into wind power lease agreements with the owners of the site, Ray and Shirley Steyer, and Bernard and Ruth Steyer. In Spring 2000, Atlantic Renewable Energy filed applications with Stewart Township and Fayette County for zoning approval of the project. Approvals from both jurisdictions were received in Summer 2000. An erosion and sedimentation control plan was approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in early Fall 2000.

The Mill Run project features 10 GE Wind LLC 1.5-MW wind turbine generators. The GE Wind 1.5 is a variable-speed machine, with some of the highest operating efficiencies currently available. Its sophisticated power electronics make it particularly suitable for grid-interconnection at the distribution level. The Allegheny Power system provides transmission for the project’s output, via an interconnection at the Clay Run substation, approximately 4 miles distant from the project. Interconnection with Allegheny Power was facilitated by Somerset Electric Cooperative, through a sharing of power poles between the project and Clay Run.

The output of the Mill Run project is being purchased by Exelon Generation Company, under a long-term power purchase agreement. This long-term commitment permits the most favorable pricing possible, reducing to a minimum the cost of this renewable resource to customers. Marketing of the output to residential and commercial customers in Pennsylvania is managed by Community Energy, Inc., an electricity retailer based in Wayne, Pennsylvania.