The 605.2
megawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...
(MW) Peñascal Wind Farm project is located south of
Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay (Inuktitut: ''Saknirutiak Imanga''; ; ; ), located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is sometimes considered a s ...
in
Kenedy County, Texas
Kenedy County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 350. It is the third-least populous county in Texas and fourth-least populous in the United States. Its county seat is Sarita. The coun ...
and was constructed in three phases by
Iberdrola
Iberdrola, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational electric utility company based in Bilbao, Spain. It has around 40,000 employees and serves around 30 million customers.
Subsidiary, Subsidiaries include ScottishPower (United Kingdom), Ava ...
and
Mortenson Construction. It became Iberdrola's largest renewable energy facility in the world after completion of the second phase in 2010.
[Iberdrola Opens 404-MW Penascal Wind Farm]
''Renewable Energy World'', 22 June 2010.
Details
The first two construction phases of the
wind farm
A wind farm, also called a wind park or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an exten ...
each have 84
Mitsubishi
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...
MWT-92 2.4 MW
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...
s. Around 200 people were involved in the construction. Phase I was completed in April 2009 and Phase II came online in April 2010.
The facility also created some 20 long-term jobs in maintenance and operation. Iberdrola received a $114 million treasury grant for the project as part of the stimulus funds that was released in September 2009.
On July 30, 2010, the U.S. Treasury's 1603 Program website listed the Penascal II Wind Project as having received a total award amount of $222,861,149.
Phase three of the project consists of 101
Gamesa
Gamesa (formerly Galletera Mexicana S.A. de C.V. "Mexican Biscuit Company")(also Grupo Gamesa) is Mexico's largest manufacturer of cookies. The company also makes flour, ready to eat cereals and other related products. It is headquartered in Sa ...
G97 2.0 MW wind turbines. Construction began in 2013 and was completed in 2015.
The wind farm includes an innovative radar system that detects the arrival of large flocks of migratory birds and shuts down the turbines if visibility conditions present a danger.
Electricity production
(*) partial year of operation
See also
*Wind power in Texas
Wind power in Texas, a portion of total energy in Texas, consists of over 150 wind farms, which together have a total nameplate capacity of over 30,000 MW (as of 2020).
*Environmental impact of wind power
The environmental impact of electricity generation from wind power is minor when compared to that of Fossil fuel power station, fossil fuel power. Wind turbines have some of the lowest global warming potential per unit of electricity generated ...
*List of wind farms in the United States
This is a list of large wind farms in the United States. Many of the wind farms in the United States are located in the Great Plains.
Onshore wind farms
Listed are wind farms with a generating capacity of at least 150 megawatts (MW) or a ...
References
External links
Penascal Wind Power Project, Fact Sheet
Penascal Baffin Wind Power Project, Fact Sheet
VIDEO: Peñascal, Texas Wind Power Project
{{Wind power in the United States
Energy infrastructure completed in 2009
Energy infrastructure completed in 2010
Energy infrastructure completed in 2015
Buildings and structures in Kenedy County, Texas
Wind farms in Texas