Invenergy brings live 250-MW wind farm to supply Saint-Gobain, Verizon

Chicago-based renewables developer Invenergy LLC said on Tuesday that its 250-MW Blooming Grove Wind Energy Centre in Illinois is now up and running.

The wind farm, located in McLean County, is 90%-owned by Milwaukee-based energy services company WEC Energy Group, with Invenergy being a minority shareholder. The power plant kicked off commercial operations in December and is expected to produce enough electricity to supply around 69,000 US homes a year.

Telecom conglomerate Verizon Communications has a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) tied to a 130-MW portion of the wind park to support its goal of becoming carbon neutral in its operational emissions by 2035. The remaining 120 MW of Blooming Grove’s capacity is contracted by building materials company Saint-Gobain North America as it wants to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The deal will see Saint-Gobain get renewable energy certificates (RECs) that will effectively offset electricity-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from its US operations by 40%.

Invenergy Services will oversee the wind farm’s operations and will also provide balance of plant, energy and asset management services under a long-term deal.

Earlier this year, Invenergy and Verizon struck three 15-year contracts under which the telecoms group will buy power from 525 MW of solar farms built by Invenergy. The three plants are due to be online by end-2023.

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