Pattern Energy Group Inc. (Pattern Energy) recently held a Grand Opening ceremony to dedicate its new 200-MW Logan’s Gap Wind facility in Comanche County, Texas. Now operating at full capacity, Logan’s Gap Wind will create enough clean energy to power 50,000 homes in Texas each year, according to average annual residential energy use data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“Presently, the majority of the revenue collected by Comanche County comes by way of ad valorem taxes,” said Sherman Sides, Comanche County Commissioner Precinct 3. “The Logan’s Gap Wind facility will increase the county’s tax base dramatically as well as provide needed additional revenue for the county throughout the next 25 years.”
“We should all be proud that Logan’s Gap Wind was built using American-made turbines while creating hundreds of local jobs,” said Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy. “Construction spending injected more than $5 million into the local economy, and, going forward, our Community Benefits Program will support local organizations, including the Comanche Youth Council. The facility will now harness the wind of Comanche County to produce clean energy for Walmart, one of America’s leading companies.”
Walmart has a 10-year power purchase agreement to acquire 58 percent of the expected output from the facility. Seventeen percent of the expected output will be sold under a 13-year fixed price agreement with a A-/Baa2-rated financial institution. The remaining 25 percent of expected output will be sold at ERCOT spot market prices.
“Walmart has a goal to be supplied by 100-percent renewable energy, and sourcing from wind energy projects like the Logan’s Gap Wind Facility is a core component in the mix,” said Mark Vanderhelm, vice president of energy for Walmart. “The energy we’ll procure from this facility represents nearly one-fifth of the U.S. portion of our goal to source seven billion kilowatt hours of renewable energy by 2020. That’s a significant leap forward on our renewable energy journey.”
Logan’s Gap Wind utilizes 87 Siemens 2.3-MW wind turbines with a total capacity of 200 MW.
“Logan’s Gap represents the latest chapter in Texas’ wind energy success story and provides an outstanding example of how wind power can be used to help companies meet their energy needs,” said Jacob Andersen, CEO of Siemens Wind Power Americas. “Through our factories in Iowa and Kansas, Siemens has made a long-term commitment to the growth of wind power in America. We’re pleased to partner with Pattern Energy on a project that symbolizes our energy future, and Siemens’ wind service technicians will help ensure that the turbines at Logan’s Gap continue to operate reliably and efficiently.”
As part of its commitment to the communities where it operates, Pattern Energy created the Logan’s Gap Wind Community Benefits Program to support causes within the greater Comanche County community. Over the next five years, Logan’s Gap Wind will contribute $100,000 to the Logan’s Gap Wind Community Benefits Program, which will support the following local organizations that each provide a unique and critical service to the community of Comanche County:
• The Comanche County Agency on Aging
• The Salvation Army Food
• Assistance Program
• The Park Enhancement Group of Comanche
• The Comanche Youth Council
Construction of the wind power facility created hundreds of jobs. An average of 250 workers were on site during construction with up to 550 workers on site during peak activity. There are 12 full-time permanent workers to operate and maintain the facility.
Each year, the Logan’s Gap Wind facility will avoid the emission of 780,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide — equal to taking 153,000 cars off the roads — and conserves enough water to meet the needs of more than 9,000 Texans each year, according to statistics from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and The University of Texas.
Located in ERCOT’s North Zone, the Logan’s Gap Wind facility connects to Oncor’s 138kV Comanche-Zephyr line, which crosses the facility site and supplies power to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
For more information, go to www.patternenergy.com.
— Source: Pattern Energy
