The 426th turbine of the Los Vientos wind power projects is now spinning and serving customers near the Rio Grande in Starr County, Texas. It marks the completion of Los Vientos IV, the last of the five area projects to begin operation.
Duke Energy Renewables has installed more than 1,500 MW of wind energy in Texas, more than double its owned wind capacity in other states combined.
"Four years ago, we first began capturing the winds off the gulf with Los Vientos I and II in Willacy County," said Rob Caldwell, president, Duke Energy Renewables and Distributed Energy Technology. "Since then, we've brought three other Los Vientos wind projects on line, delivering 900 MW of clean energy to South Texas.
"With 500 MW of that total in Starr County, we'd like to thank county leaders and our business partners for helping us deliver clean, low-cost renewable energy to south Texas customers and provide economic benefits to this region."
"Duke Energy has been a great partner and member of our community," said Eloy Vera, Starr County Judge. "We look forward to continuing with them to provide more wind farm opportunities for our residences."
The Los Vientos projects generate the majority of their power during the day, when customer demand is greatest.
Austin Energy is purchasing the power and associated renewable energy credits from the 200-MW Los Vientos IV wind farm under a 25-year agreement, increasing its total output purchased from Duke Energy Renewables to more than 665 MW.
Los Vientos IV is located approximately 35 miles northwest of McAllen, near Rio Grande City.
Vestas supplied 100 V110-2.0 MW turbines for Los Vientos IV and will service the project under a three-year operations and maintenance agreement.
"With the turbines installed at Los Vientos IV, Vestas crossed a historic milestone – 75GW installed in 75 countries. We're especially proud to have accomplished this on the Los Vientos IV project, a testament to our valued partnership with Duke Energy, a demonstrated renewable energy leader," said Chris Brown, president of Vestas' sales and service division in the United States and Canada.
The facility was constructed by Wanzek Construction. Amshore US Wind provided development support for the project.
(Photo Credit: Duke Energy)