US power utility American Electric Power (AEP) has cancelled the 2 GW Wind Catcher project after Texas' Public Utility Commission (PUC) rejected it. The project would have comprised a US$4.5bn onshore wind park and a 563-km long power transmission line but the Texas PUC rejected it in July 2018, saying that the project doesn’t provide enough benefits for Texan ratepayers as per its proposed structure. AEP thus failed to secure timely approvals from all jurisdictions to complete the project by the end of 2020 and to be eligible for 100% of the federal production tax credit.
AEP now plans to invest US$24bn between 2018 and 2021 to rebuild and enhance ageing grid infrastructure and deploy smart grids. Besides, AEP plans to add 3,065 MW of solar and 5,295 MW of wind power capacity by 2030, of which the largest portion was originally dedicated to Wind Catcher. Abandoning the wind park is likely to pave the way for other projects.
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