Apex Clean Energy to Operate IKEA Canada Wind Farm, Wintering Hills

Apex Clean Energy (Apex) has announced a multi-year contract with IKEA Canada to manage and provide remote operations for the Wintering Hills wind farm located in Alberta, Canada. The 88 MW facility produces enough power to supply approximately 26,000 Canadian homes.

IKEA US purchased two U.S. wind farms from Apex: the 165 MW Cameron Wind facility located in Cameron County, Texas, in November 2014; and the 98 MW Hoopeston Wind facility located in Hoopeston, Illinois, in April 2014. Apex operates and maintains both facilities.

“This expansion of our Asset Management business sends a strong signal to the market,” said Mark Goodwin, president and CEO of Apex.

Apex put more wind energy on the U.S. grid than any other company in 2015. Looking ahead, Apex also has the industry’s largest and most diverse pipeline of projects in active development. The Wintering Hills facility is the eleventh project in the Apex Asset Management fleet, bringing the total generation under management up to 1,729 MW.

“Wind asset management is a science, and we’re able to use the science to safely and reliably push the boundaries of performance,” said Andrea Miller, vice president of asset management for Apex. “When it comes to getting maximum power and profit from a wind farm, we measure and analyze the data that others aren't, so we can take action on opportunities and realize gains that others don’t.”

The Wintering Hills project consists of 55 General Electric 1.6 MW turbines, each with a hub height of 80 meters and a nominal speed of 16.8 rpm.