Prairie Power, Inc. (PPI) and Illinois Winds LLC (a PowerWorks company) signed interconnection and power purchase agreements for the 44 MW Panther Creek wind project near Pittsfield. Sixteen wind turbines will be installed at the project site with construction expected to begin in mid-2022.
PPI will purchase 100 percent of the power generated by the project for 20 years.
“Prairie Power and its 10 member electric cooperatives are pleased to be associated with this renewable generation project and enthusiastic about the carbon-free electric energy it will provide for rural electric cooperative consumers in central Illinois,” said Eric Hobbie, PPI president and CEO. “We look forward to working closely with Illinois Winds to bring this project on-line.”
PPI is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric generation and transmission cooperative. It produces and supplies wholesale electricity to 10 electric distribution cooperatives in central Illinois and provides service to approximately 78,000 member owners. The cooperatives include Adams Electric Cooperative, Camp Point; Coles-Moultrie Electric Cooperative, Mattoon; Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative, Paxton; Illinois Electric Cooperative, Winchester; Jo-Carroll Energy, Inc. (NFP), Elizabeth; McDonough Power Cooperative, Macomb; Menard Electric Cooperative, Petersburg; Shelby Electric Cooperative, Shelbyville; Spoon River Electric Cooperative, Canton; and Western Illinois Electrical Coop., Carthage.
