Energy in the News

Duke Energy Indiana will buy up to 100 megawatts of wind-generated electricity from a wind farm an independent company is building in Benton County, Ind.

The 20-year agreement is the first significant, long-term purchase of wind power in that state. It is the result of a late-2005 request for proposals Duke Energy Indiana -- known as PSI Energy before Duke Energy Corp. bought its parent, Cinergy Corp., in April -- issued for green-energy resources.

If regulators approve the contract, Duke Energy Indiana will begin purchasing the power in 2007.

It is a small percentage of the 7,200 megawatts of electricity the company produces each year for 750,000 customers in Indiana. But company officials view the deal as significant.

"Clean, zero-emissions, wind-generated energy will be a good addition to our resource portfolio," says Kay Pashos, Duke Energy Indiana president. "This project will also boost the local economy in an area where conditions make wind power possible. It's consistent with the state's new strategic energy plan that encourages innovative, homegrown ways to generate power within the state."

Orion Energy began developing the Benton County project on 10,000 acres in late 2003, and the project is expected to go online by late 2007.

Terms of Orion Energy's agreement with Duke were not disclosed.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) is based in Charlotte. It has electric utility operations in the Carolinas, Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois, as well as Indiana, with its regulated generating capacity totaling 28,000 megawatts.