Vestas to Supply 270 MW in Turbines for Mystery Wind Project in US
WASHINGTON — Danish wind energy giant Vestas Wind Systems announced Monday that it is supplying 270 MW in new turbines for an undisclosed project in an undisclosed location, under the auspices of its Steelhead Americas subsidiary.
Steelhead is one of the few wind-focused “flip” renewable energy developers remaining in the United States.
Its expertise, it says on its website, is in “developing projects in-house from greenfield concept stage up to shovel ready.”
Typically it handles all development efforts, including permitting, land acquisition and construction design before delivering the project to a customer who then completes the construction and installation.
Almost all of its work is done in areas that have yet to enter the wind energy arena.
For example, this past summer Steelhead Americas celebrated the commission of a 185-MW wind project in Mississippi, which it sold in 2022 to the AES Corporation.
When it went into operation in June, Delta Wind, as the project is known, became Mississippi’s first operational, utility-scale wind farm.
To date the company has developed 19 such projects and currently has more than 1,000 turbines operating or under construction.
Steelhead Americas’ latest order consists of 60 V163-4.5 MW turbines, Vestas’ newest high-capacity factor turbine.
The order includes supply, delivery and commissioning of the turbines, as well as a multiyear Active Output Management 5000 service agreement, designed to ensure optimized performance of the asset.
“We’re pleased to close out 2024 by continuing to deliver significant projects across the U.S. and meet the growing demand for homegrown electricity while strengthening America’s energy independence and security,” said Laura Beane, president, Vestas North America.
“We’re also grateful to the expertise of Steelhead Americas for developing this project, a testament to their growing track record of creating meaningful business opportunities for communities across the U.S.,” Beane said.
Turbine delivery for the project is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026.
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue
