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Mississippi milestone: AES celebrates completion of first utility-scale wind farm in the state

Mississippi milestone: AES celebrates completion of first utility-scale wind farm in the state
The Delta Wind site in Tunica County, Mississippi (courtesy: AES)

Today in Tunica County, Mississippi, the AES Corporation and a collection of local leaders cut the ribbon on the first utility-scale wind generation facility in the state. The event attracted state representatives, Tunica County leadership, and project stakeholders including Amazon, which is purchasing energy from the site.

The 184.5-MW Delta Wind project started construction in 2023 and became operational in May of this year. The site features 41 Vestas wind turbines that rise to a total tip height of 692 feet. AES is the long-term owner and operator of the facility.

The completed Delta Wind project (courtesy: AES)

“The AES Delta Wind project represents a historic milestone as the first wind energy project in Mississippi,” said Woody Rubin, chief development officer for AES’ US renewable energy business. “This pioneering project provides clean, reliable energy to Amazon to power its facilities and operations in the region while reducing carbon emissions. The project also provides an important economic infusion to local communities by supporting more than 300 jobs during peak construction and by generating tens of millions of dollars in new tax revenue to support local schools, infrastructure, and services in Tunica County over the life of the project.”

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“The Delta Wind project is a key part of our efforts to build a sustainable economy on the Mississippi Delta that works for everyone,” said Dr. Billy Willis, administrator for Tunica County. “Change is often difficult but we’re making history here with the Delta Wind project and we believe this project can be a catalyst for accelerated renewable energy and economic development throughout the South.” 

The Vestas turbines on the Delta Wind site rise up to 692 feet (courtesy: AES)

The Delta Wind project is located on 14,000 acres of privately-owned farmland in Tunica County. According to AES, the project was carefully designed in collaboration with local landowners to be a “dual-use” project to ensure current agricultural land uses – the growing of rice, soybeans, corn, and wheat – continue beneath the turbines. 

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