FirstEnergy will buy wind power

The Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm will be near Altoona, Pa., in parts of Cambria and Blair counties, and is planned to have 40 turbines rated at 2 megawatts each. Phase I is expected to be operating by early next year.

The farm is being developed by Gamesa Energy USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gamesa Group, a publicly traded Spanish wind-energy company with its North American headquarters in Philadelphia.

The project would be the largest wind farm in Pennsylvania, and one of the largest in the entire Mid-Atlantic region, according to a FirstEnergy news release.

Earlier this month, Gamesa also announced it would be building three new advanced technology plants in Bucks County, Pa., for the production of wind mill blades and towers and the assembly of nacelles, which house the wind turbines. These plants will join the existing blade plant Gamesa is building in Cambria County, a few miles away from the proposed project location.