AEP's 2 GW wind farm in the Oklahoma panhandle would have been the largest single renewable energy project in the United States, providing power for the company's customers in four states. The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), however, took issue with exposing ratepayers to the cost of the project. "Without significant safeguards — and I don't believe the [proposal] provides significant safeguards for ratepayers — I'm not there," PUCT Chair DeAnn Walker said during the open meeting Thursday. Generation in Texas is typically built by private investors in the market operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. But AEP subsidiary Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) does not operate in that market and asked regulators to allow it to finance the project through charges on customer power bills. Doing so would save money over the life of the project and protect against the risk of natural gas price increases, the company argued. Regulators, however, were skeptical, with Commissioner Arthur D'Andrea saying the company was "asking us for $4.5 billion of taxing authority." "It's one thing when you need the generation going forward, but this is [AEP] saying 'we don't need it, we think it will lower their rates and it's a financial play,'" D'Andrea said. "You have a burden to show that the taxpayers ... really have something to gain from that, I'm not sure they met that burden here." Earlier this week, AEP CEO Nick Akins said its utilities would look at siting smaller renewable energy projects in individual states if the massive proposal was rejected. "If Wind Catcher were not to happen, there'll still be opportunities for those kinds of resources to be applied through our resource plans in those particular states," he told analysts on a second quarter earnings call. "But obviously, [we] don't want to miss the opportunity for Wind Catcher because it's a great way to deal with the resource plans in all of those states at one time rather than independently with perhaps less efficient projects." The rejection of Wind Catcher would not alter AEP's overall financial situation, Akins said. "Certainly, we would like Wind Catcher to be approved and move forward," he said, "but to reiterate, the foundation of this company remains solid and our growth plans continue to support a 5% to 7% growth rate trajectory regardless." This post has been updated to reflect AEP's announcement that it would cancel the Wind Catcher project.
The Texas utility regulator has rejected American Electric Power 's ( AEP ) four - phase 2 GW Wind Catcher project , saying it ' n't provide enough benefit to consumers . The onshore scheme had already been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and by regulators in Louisiana and Mississippi , and was waiting for a decision in Oklahoma . If approved , Wind Catcher would have been the largest single renewable energy project in the US .