New Solar & Wind Power Projects (Largest Wind Power Project in Washington, Largest PV Farm in Texas, & More)

 
A lot of new, large, solar and wind power projects have been announced, finished, or funded in the past day or so, so I thought I’d do a combined post on all of these together.

Washington’s Largest Wind Power Project, the 343-MW Lower Snake River Wind Facility-Phase I, began commercial operation yesterday. The wind farm will help Puget Sound Energy’s 1.1 million electric customers with more renewable, emissions-free power. The project includes 149 Siemens 2.3-MW wind turbines and will produce enough electricity, on average, to power 100,000 homes. (More info at Puget Sound Energy.)

10 New Solar Installations in Reno. Enfinity America Corporation announced the completion of 10 solar projects in Reno, Nevada yesterday. “The installations will generate over 1,800 megawatt-hours (MWh) annually – approximately 18% of the city’s total electricity needs – and save the city between $1.6 and $3.0 million over the 20 year power purchase agreement (PPA) term,” Enfinity notes. “The solar installations are located at municipal facilities throughout the city.”

“Increasingly, municipalities are recognizing that solar energy is a viable, commercially-sound proposition,” Enfinity’s Executive Vice President of Development, Bob Hopper, notes. “Cities like Reno are now able to purchase clean energy, often at a lower rate than their current cost of energy, without significant up-front capital costs or the responsibility for maintaining the system.” (More info at Enfinity.)

The 127-MW, $550-million Arlington Valley Solar Energy II Project (“AV Solar”) now has its funding completed and construction has been authorized, LS Power indicated yesterday. The project is to be built in Arlington, Arizona (not Arlington, Virginia) on 1,100 acres. The project is supposed to be in operation in 2013 and “will sell its entire output to San Diego Gas & Electric pursuant to a long-term power sales agreement.” (More info at PR Newswire.)

The 20-MW Frisco Wind Farm in North Texas (near the Oklahoma border) has been completed by DeWind Co, as announced yesterday. “During an average year, the Frisco Wind Farm will offset an annual nominal average of 39,726.5 tons of CO2 emissions and provide enough electricity to power almost 6,000 average American households.” (More info at Business Wire.)

A 30-MW solar farm in Webberville, Texas built by RES Americas and SunEdison, the largest active solar PV power plant in Texas, has been bought by MetLife and Longsol Holdings US Inc, as announced yesterday. “The utility-scale solar project was made possible through a 25-year solar power purchase agreement with Austin Energy, which will purchase the electricity and environmental attributes generated by the project at a fixed rate over the life of the project.” (More info at PR Newswire.)

And, in closing, awesome screenshot of that top video above: