The Dry Lake Wind Power Project in
Navajo County is the first and the largest utility-scale
wind farm in the U.S. state of
Arizona. Starting in 2009, it was constructed in two phases having a total generating capacity of 128.1
megawatts (MW), and is selling the electricity to the
Salt River Power District (SRP).
History
Around 2003, rancher Bill Elkins began working with developer John Gaglioti and Northern Arizona University scientists to erect
measurement tower
A measurement tower or measurement mast, also known as meteorological tower or meteorological mast (met tower or met mast), is a free standing tower or a removed mast, which carries measuring instruments with meteorological instruments, such as ...
s on his land to measure wind speeds. He studied the local power grid to determine the feasibility of connecting a wind farm. Navajo County and Iberdrola officials credit Gaglioti and Elkins with attracting the first wind farm to Arizona.
Project details
Phase 1 (
) consists of 30
Suzlon 2.1
MW wind turbines, for a total
nameplate capacity of 63 MW.
Iberdrola Renewables
Iberdrola Renovables was a subsidiary of Iberdrola, headquartered in Valencia, Spain, which included companies in the domains of renewable energy, particularly wind power. The firm was the world's largest renewable energy firm: it was the worl ...
built the wind farm for $100 million. Based on wind measurements before construction began, Iberdrola estimated phase 1 would produce an average of 132,450
MWh
A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...
annually. Depending on actual performance of phase 1, the company planned to install up to 209 more turbines in future construction phases.
Phase 2 (
) consists of 31 additional Suzlon turbines for a combined nameplate capacity of 65.1 MW.
The location of phase 2 is about seven miles (11 km) northwest of
Snowflake and three miles (5 km) southeast of phase 1.
Electricity production
(*) partial year of operation
Environmental effect
According to the
USDOE, each 1000 MW of wind power capacity installed in Arizona will save of water per year and eliminate 2.0 million tons of
carbon dioxide emissions.
Phase 1 of Dry Lake Wind Power Project would then eliminate:
of carbon dioxide, and save:
of water annually.
See also
*
Wind power in Arizona
In 2016, Arizona had 268 megawatts (MW) of wind powered electricity generating capacity, producing 0.5% of in-state generated electricity.
History
Utility-scale wind power in Arizona began in 2009 with the commissioning of the first phase of the ...
References
External links
Salt River Project – Dry Lake Wind Power ProjectVideo: Dry Lake Wind Power Project
{{Wind power in the United States
Energy infrastructure completed in 2009
Buildings and structures in Navajo County, Arizona
Suzlon
Wind farms in Arizona