HUTCHINSON, Kan. — As Reno County Commissioners and NextEra Energy continue to work on the proposed wind farm in the southern part of the county, a major company announced it entered into a power purchase agreement with NextEra in connection with the project.

Iron Mountain, a major storage and information management services company, announced the signing of a 15-year power purchase agreement for 145 megawatts of new wind energy from the Pretty Prairie Wind Farm. With this agreement, Iron Mountain expects to exceed 75 percent global renewable electricity usage in 2018 and move the company closer to its goal of 100 percent renewable power by 2050.

NextEra Energy Resources will build, own, and operate the Pretty Prairie project, with Iron Mountain purchasing a portion of the electricity it generates. When completed, Iron Mountain’s portion of the project will generate enough clean, renewable electricity to power the equivalent of 56,000 U.S. homes and will reduce fossil fuel emissions equivalent to removing more than 101,000 cars from the road annually, according to a release from Iron Mountain.

Reno County Commissioners are ready to enter into an agreement with NextEra for the project, which is forecast to begin operation in late 2019 or early 2020. The project has been met with mixed reaction in the county, but NextEra says — for the most part — it has been positive.  Still, some area residents are asking for a six month moratorium to be considered.  READ MORE

The project should create more than 250 jobs during construction and between 15-20 full-time jobs. Over its first 30 years in operation, the project will generate an estimated $50 million in payments to local landowners, as well as millions of dollars in additional tax revenue to the local community.