MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration
of the American Wind Energy Association's American Wind
Week, Geronimo Energy (Geronimo), a National Grid company,
announced today that it has established a local charitable giving
board, named the Crocker Community Fund Board (the Fund), for the
benefit of the communities connected to the Crocker Wind Farm
(Crocker). Crocker is a 200 megawatt (MW) operational
wind energy project located in Clark
County, SD. Crocker has
executed Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPA) with Walmart and
Cargill, utilizes GE turbines, and was constructed by Wanzek
Construction.
Crocker began operations in
late 2019 and brings economic benefits to the local and state
economies. At the peak of construction, Crocker had over 200 construction workers
onsite and has since employed 10 full-time employees at its
Operations and Maintenance building. Additionally, the project is
estimated to produce $18 million in
new tax revenue and $24 million in
landowner payments during the first 20 years of operations.
Unique to Geronimo, its large-scale operating wind farms further
benefit from a charitable fund called Community Funds. The
contributions from Community Funds are above and beyond any tax
revenue or other economic impacts from Geronimo's projects and are
meant as charitable donations to the local project host
communities. To date, Geronimo has initiated thirteen wind farm
Community Funds across the nation, resulting in a total commitment
of over $9.6 million in charitable
donations over the first 20 operational years of these
projects.
In Clark County, the Crocker
Community Fund will receive an estimated $40,000 per year for a period of 20 years,
totaling approximately $800,000 in
local charitable funding. The Fund board has been elected and is
composed of local landowners in the project footprint, as well as
Clark County residents. The Fund
donations will be funded by Geronimo and dispersed by the newly
elected board to support charitable causes within and near
Crocker.
"As a member of the Crocker Community Fund Board, I am excited
to see what we can do for our community over the next 20 years with
the funds we will receive from Geronimo Energy," stated
Jody Obermeier, a Crocker Community
Fund Board member and landowner within the Crocker Wind Farm. "We
are in the set-up stages right now as a board and fund. The Crocker
Community Fund is going to be a great asset to our small community,
and as a board, we will see that the funds are used to have the
greatest community impact."
"We are a community-focused and farmer-friendly company, and our
Community Funds are at the heart of this value system," stated
David Reamer, President for Geronimo
Energy. "In addition to the economic benefits our projects offer,
such as tax revenue and job creation, we are committed to giving
back to the host communities where we develop wind farms. We've
been working in the Clark County
area for over a decade, and we couldn't be more excited to see the
Crocker Community Fund established to benefit our neighbors and
friends."
About Geronimo Energy
Geronimo Energy, a National Grid
(NYSE: NGG) company, is a leading North American renewable energy
development company based in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, with satellite offices located throughout
multiple states in the regions where it develops, constructs, and
operates. As a farmer-friendly and community driven company,
Geronimo develops projects for corporations and utilities that seek
to repower America's grid by reigniting local economies and
reinvesting in a sustainable future. Geronimo has developed over
2,400 megawatts of wind and solar projects that are either
operational or currently under construction, resulting in an
investment of over $4 billion in
critical energy infrastructure and the revitalization of rural
economies. Geronimo has a vast development pipeline of wind and
solar projects in various stages of development throughout
the United States. Please visit
www.geronimoenergy.com to learn more.
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Contact:
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Andréa
Savage
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Geronimo
Energy
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8400 Normandale Lake
Boulevard
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Suite 1200
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Bloomington, MN
55437
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952.300.9480,
asavage@geronimoenergy.com
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SOURCE Geronimo Energy