Enel Green Power North America, Inc., the U.S. renewable energy company of the Enel Group broke ground yesterday on the Rattlesnake Creek wind farm in Dixon County, Nebraska. The farm will have a total installed capacity of 320 MW and will power Facebook’s Papillion data center.
“This project consolidates our growing presence in the US as our company enters into a new state and expands our business with new partners,” said Antonio Cammisecra, Head of Enel Green Power in a press release. “We are thrilled to be able to support Facebook’s growing renewable energy needs in Nebraska and be a part of driving economic development in the region.”
The Rattlesnake Creek wind farm represents a $430 million investment by Enel. The project is financed through the Enel Group’s own resources.
Roughly two-thirds of the power and renewable energy credits produced at Rattlesnake Creek will be bundled and sold to Facebook under a long-term power purchase agreement. The new data center in Papillion will be powered entirely by renewable wind energy.
Thanks to our sponsor
“We know from experience that when people come together, they can do a lot of good in the world,” said Bobby Hollis, Director of Global Energy at Facebook. “We came together with the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD), Tradewind Energy, and now, Enel Green Power, to ensure renewable energy solutions are accessible not just to Facebook, but to other companies as well.
The partnership between OPPD, Tradewind Energy and Enel is a unique one that will hopefully bring more opportunities like it.
“It’s really interesting that Faebook worked with OPPD to create this new tariff so companies like Facebook can connect and power their companies with 100% green energy,” said Mark McGrail, Associate VP of Energy Management for Enel Green Power. “We think what OPPD has done will open up the market to other CNI customers like FB who are interested in green energy.”
Once fully operational, Rattlesnake Creek will be able to generate around 1.3 TWh annually, enough energy to meet the equivalent annual consumption needs of more than 105,000 U.S. households, while avoiding the emission of around 940,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.
“Today, we are one step closer to our goal of powering all of our operations with clean and renewable energy, and we are grateful to our partners for this collaboration,” said Hollis.
