Thousands of Californians will now be powered by the winds sweeping across the plains of Texas and New Mexico.
The new wind power plant, labeled Broadview Wind, holds a capacity of 324 MW of clean energy. That is good for up to 125,000 households a year, according to the Pattern Energy Group Inc. This location will include 141 2.3 MW wind turbines all made with US parts by Siemens.
The electricity will be transmitted to Southern California Edison via the 345 kV Western Interconnect transmission line. This transaction was brokered through agreements between Broadview Wind, Western Interconnect, and the states of New Mexico and Arizona. Through these agreements, the company has pledged to sell all of its electricity to SCE.
Continuing with the trend of putting America to work to bring this notion to fruition, the project employed more than 650 employees at the height of the operation, with an average of 350 employees at any given point.
Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy Group, stated, “This innovative facility is generating inexpensive renewable energy in eastern New Mexico and delivering clean power into California – helping that state transition to a carbon-free, low-cost, renewable grid.”
Garland went on to say how this facility demonstrates the need for clean energy generation plants to deliver power from “where it’s created to where it’s needed.” Often times states with high taxes such as California do not make for ideal locations for large area projects. The states of Texas and New Mexico offer a much more business friendly environment for these types of endeavors.
The Broadview Wind plant will add $30 million to the local community via taxes and donations; it has plans for $150,000 donations to the Village of Grady and the local school district, and a $20,000 donation to the local Fire Department.
