KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, KCP&L announced a significant investment in environmental sustainability through new and enhanced energy-efficiency programs and wind energy projects. The utility has requested to expand its energy-efficiency programs to all of its Missouri customers under the Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment Act (MEEIA). KCP&L also plans to purchase 400 MW of power from two new wind facilities in the Kansas City region, which will increase the company's total wind energy portfolio to 939 MW. The wind projects will provide enough energy to power up to approximately 124,000 homes. With these additions, KCP&L will have the largest amounts of renewable generation and energy-efficiency investment of any investor-owned utility in the states of Missouri and Kansas.
“These investments continue our commitment to move toward a more sustainable energy future in an affordable way,” said KCP&L President and CEO Terry Bassham. “We are committed to providing our customers with long-term energy solutions that reduce cost and offer more control of energy use.”
Wind Generation Facilities
The first renewable energy facility will be built and operated by EDP Renewables near Waverly, in Coffey County Kan. The second facility will be built in Holt County, Mo., 20 miles northwest of St. Joseph and will be constructed and operated by Element Power. Each facility will be capable of producing up to 200 MW of electricity, and both are expected to be online and producing power by the beginning of 2016.
“These two new wind projects will nearly double the amount of clean, renewable generation in our energy portfolio,” said Bassham. “This addition will be another step in diversifying our generation mix, which has already seen significant reductions in emissions from recent environmental upgrades made at several of our power plants.”
These wind projects give KCP&L the opportunity to take full advantage of a federal wind tax credit that expired at the end of 2013. Also, these facilities will be economically beneficial to KCP&L’s customers over the lifetime of the 20-year agreements. While wind turbines cannot yet replace base-load generation like KCP&L’s larger power plants, these wind farms will be a cheaper option to supplement base-load generation than purchasing power from other locations. Using these wind turbines in place of other forms of electricity generation not only reduces fuel and other costs, but is also a more environmentally-friendly option for the region.
Expanded Energy-Efficiency Programs
In addition to adding more renewable energy for all customers, KCP&L also filed with the Missouri Public Service Commission (MPSC) to expand its energy-efficiency programs to all of its Missouri customers. With the approval of this expansion, KCP&L will have the largest energy efficiency portfolio, on a per customer basis, of any investor-owned utility in Missouri and Kansas. As a result, customers will have greater control over their energy use and costs with more than a dozen energy-efficiency programs.
“We know saving money and efficient energy use are priorities for our customers,” said Bassham. “As the first utility to propose customer programs under the MEEIA, we are proud of our ongoing efforts to provide customers innovative energy-efficiency options. The availability of these programs demonstrates our continued commitment to helping our customers reduce energy, save money and improve the environment.”
If approved, this expansion will include several popular residential and commercial energy-efficiency programs currently available to some of KCP&L’s Missouri customers that are designed to improve lighting, provide rebates for recycling older, inefficient appliances and for replacing inefficient heating and cooling systems, among other programs.
The next step in this process is for the MPSC to review KCP&L’s request. The MPSC has 120 days to review and make a final ruling on the filing. The programs will be available to all of KCP&L’s Missouri customers upon MPSC approval.
For more information on KCP&L’s new investments in environmental sustainability visit www.kcpl.com/sustainability.
About KCP&L:
Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., Great Plains Energy Incorporated (NYSE: GXP) is the holding company of Kansas City Power & Light Company and KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Company, two of the leading regulated providers of electricity in the Midwest. Kansas City Power & Light and KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations use KCP&L as a brand name. More information about the companies is available on the Internet at www.greatplainsenergy.com or www.kcpl.com.
About EDP Renewables:
EDP Renewables ("EDP Renováveis, S.A.," or EDPR) is a global leader in the renewable energy sector that develops, constructs, owns and operates renewable generation facilities. EDP Renewables North America (EDPR NA) is owned by EDPR and develops, constructs, owns and operates wind farms throughout North America. Based in Houston, Texas with 29 wind farms across the United States and Canada, EDPR NA has developed more than 4,000 megawatts and operates more than 3,800 MW of wind farms. EDPR NA's highly qualified team has a proven capacity to develop, construct, own and operate high quality wind farms.
With a sound development pipeline, first class assets and market-leading operating capacity, EDPR has grown extensively in recent years. The company's long-term growth is driven by favorable renewable energy market conditions. EDPR is committed to renewable energy generation as it becomes increasingly reliable and competitive due to technological advancements that lead to greater efficiencies. The company operates in the most attractive markets, continuously expanding to new areas of the world. EDPR is currently present in the United States, Spain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and the United Kingdom. EDPR is listed on the Euronext Lisbon Stock Exchange (NYSE Euronext: EDPR).
About Element Power:
Element Power US, LLC develops, acquires, builds, and operates utility-scale solar and wind power projects, creating clean, renewable sources of energy to meet the increasing demand for green electricity and to address the pressing challenges of global warming and energy security. Element Power is owned by Hudson Clean Energy Partners, a leading global private equity firm dedicated solely to investing in renewable power, alternative fuels, and energy efficiency and storage.
Forward-Looking Statements:
Statements made in this release that are not based on historical facts are forward-looking, may involve risks and uncertainties, and are intended to be as of the date when made. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the outcome of regulatory proceedings, cost estimates of capital projects and other matters affecting future operations. In connection with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Great Plains Energy and KCP&L are providing a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the provided forward-looking information. These important factors include: future economic conditions in regional, national and international markets and their effects on sales, prices and costs; prices and availability of electricity in regional and national wholesale markets; market perception of the energy industry, Great Plains Energy and KCP&L changes in business strategy, operations or development plans; the outcome of contract negotiations for goods and services including transportation and labor agreements; effects of current or proposed state and federal legislative and regulatory actions or developments, including, but not limited to, deregulation, re-regulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry; decisions of regulators regarding rates the Companies can charge for electricity; adverse changes in applicable laws, regulations, rules, principles or practices governing tax, accounting and environmental matters including, but not limited to, air and water quality; financial market conditions and performance including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates and credit spreads and in availability and cost of capital and the effects on nuclear decommissioning trust and pension plan assets and costs; impairments of long-lived assets or goodwill; credit ratings; inflation rates; effectiveness of risk management policies and procedures and the ability of counterparties to satisfy their contractual commitments; impact of terrorist acts, including but not limited to cyber terrorism; ability to carry out marketing and sales plans; weather conditions including, but not limited to, weather-related damage and their effects on sales, prices and costs; cost, availability, quality and deliverability of fuel; the inherent uncertainties in estimating the effects of weather, economic conditions and other factors on customer consumption and financial results; ability to achieve generation goals and the occurrence and duration of planned and unplanned generation outages; delays in the anticipated in-service dates and cost increases of generation, transmission, distribution or other projects; the inherent risks associated with the ownership and operation of a nuclear facility including, but not limited to, environmental, health, safety, regulatory and financial risks; workforce risks, including, but not limited to, increased costs of retirement, health care and other benefits; and other risks and uncertainties.
This list of factors is not all-inclusive because it is not possible to predict all factors. Other risk factors are detailed from time to time in Great Plains Energy’s and KCP&L’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement. Great Plains Energy and KCP&L undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.