Cleanline Energy Enters Into Agreement To Begin Wind Project

Clean Line Energy Partners LLC (Clean Line) is pleased to announce an agreement today between Plains and Eastern Clean Line LLC and Pelco Structural LLC (Pelco) by which Pelco will be a preferred supplier for the tubular steel transmission structures that will be used for the Plains & Eastern Clean Line transmission line project. The Plains & Eastern Clean Line will deliver wind energy produced in western Oklahoma, southwest Kansas and the Texas panhandle to consumers across the Mid-South and the Southeast regions. Under the agreement, Pelco will supply structures from its facility with approximately 100 employees in Claremore, Oklahoma. Pelco will also make engineering resources available to aid in design and costing of structures and support ongoing development and construction efforts for the Plains & Eastern Clean Line. In addition, the agreement provides that the transmission structures for the Plains & Eastern Clean Line will be manufactured within the states that the project crosses and raw materials will be sourced from local companies as much as possible.

A key to the growth of the clean energy industry is getting power from areas of the country with an excellent wind resource to areas that are more densely populated; Oklahoma has one of the best wind resources in the country. According to a study conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and AWS Truepower, Oklahoma has the potential to generate almost 17 times its current annual electricity consumption by harnessing high capacity wind energy, which would be more than enough wind to power over 25% of the United States. Clean Line estimates that a significant amount of the expected 7,000 MW of new renewable energy generation made possible by the Plains & Eastern Clean Line will be built in Oklahoma.

The Plains & Eastern Clean Line will provide broad economic growth throughout the state of Oklahoma. The project will create the opportunity for thousands of direct jobs in Oklahoma to construct and operate the wind farms and transmission line. In addition, Oklahoma manufacturers will likely see increased demand for their products with the growth of the wind industry in the state and the completion of the Plains & Eastern Clean Line, leading to increased employment for those companies and others involved in the wind energy sector. Clean Line estimates the Plains & Eastern Clean Line will create tens of millions of upfront sales tax and millions in annual property taxes on the transmission line in Oklahoma. Each county the line passes through will benefit from increased property taxes. In Oklahoma, property taxes help pay for public schools, city streets, county roads, police, fire protection and many other services.

Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce Dave Lopez applauded Clean Line’s commitment to ensuring local economic development by utilizing Oklahoma’s growing wind supply chain