East Texas Electric Cooperative and Northeast Texas Electric Cooperative have joined forces to bring 101.2 MW of renewable wind energy into the mix for their member-owned cooperatives in east Texas. The two Texas electric cooperatives have signed Renewable Energy Purchase Agreements (REPAs) for wind generation from Apex Clean Energy subsidiary Grant Wind, LLC. This project will produce about 150 MW of electricity, enough to help power over 56,000 ETEC and NTEC homes. The project is expected to come online in 2015.
“ETEC and NTEC have worked hard to diversify the energy mix that provides electric power to our member-cooperatives, as we believe this is the best approach to assure an affordable, reliable system for our members. By adding wind power, we will have additional renewable energy to complement other sources now in use,” said Edd Hargett, General Manager of ETEC.
"We are delighted to reach an agreement to add wind power into our system here at NTEC. Our goal is to continue to provide reliable, affordable power for all of our members, and this additional power will allow us to more effectively meet this goal.
Utilizing renewable energy sources is also important to us, and this agreement advances that goal as well," said Rick Tyler, NTEC General Manager.
“Northern Oklahoma is a national leader in powering America’s wind energy needs. Just as Oklahoma is known for exporting its rich deposits of oil and natural gas for the benefit of energy independence and the economy, the state is also becoming known for its vast renewable energy resources, ” said Mark Goodwin, President of Apex. “ETEC and NTEC are saving their customers money, while supporting important economic development in rural Oklahoma. Grant Wind will create hundreds of construction jobs in Grant County, Oklahoma and generate millions in property taxes for the county and local school districts.”
About ETEC
ETEC is a not-for-profit electric generation and transmission cooperative headquartered in Nacogdoches, Texas. ETEC’s mission is to provide low cost, reliable power to its 10 not-for-profit electric distribution cooperatives: Bowie-Cass Electric Cooperative, Cherokee County Electric Cooperative, Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative, Houston County Electric Cooperative, Jasper-Newton Electric Cooperative, Panola-Harrison Electric Cooperative, Rusk County Electric Cooperative, Sam Houston Electric Cooperative, Upshur Rural Electric Cooperative and Wood County Electric Cooperative.
Serving 46 counties in East Texas, ETEC provides power to 330,000 ultimate members through these distribution coops.
About NTEC
Headquartered in Longview, Texas, NTEC was founded in 1972. It is a not-for-profit electric generation and transmission cooperative with 157,460 ultimate distributive cooperative member-owners through its member cooperatives of Bowie-Cass EC, Deep East Texas EC, Panola-Harrison EC, Rusk Co. EC, Upshur Rural EC, and Wood County EC.
About Apex
Apex Clean Energy is an American-owned, independent renewable energy company focused on building utility-scale generation facilities. Apex is building one of the nation’s largest, most-diversified portfolios of renewable energy resources, capable of producing over 10,000 MW of clean energy. Apex has announced over 700 MW of power purchase agreements since 2013. In the coming year, Apex will bring five new U.S. wind energy facilities online, comprising over 1,000 MW of capacity. Apex will provide asset management services on three of these facilities, representing over 500 MW of capacity.
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