Spinning Spur Wind Farm will generate enough electricity to power 60,000 homes.
Today, Google announced substantial equity investment in the 161 megawatt Spinning Spur wind farm in Oldham County, Texas. This investment is the first that Google has made in Texas renewable energy but follows a long history of energy investments, especially in wind. The Spinning Spur project joins ten other renewable energy projects in Google’s portfolio, which together are capable of producing up to 2 gigawatts of power.
Jeff Clark, Executive Director of The Wind Coalition applauded Google’s decision to invest in Texas wind saying, “Google has been a leader in revolutionizing technologies to improve the products and industries that touch people’s lives. In the field of energy Google has led by example, seeking out ways to improve energy efficiency and by harnessing renewable power to meet their energy needs while reducing their environmental impact.”
“This first investment in Texas follows Google’s incredible track record of wind energy investments across the nation. Google knows that wind is a mainstream, reliable, and affordable source of energy and we welcome their investment and commitment here.
“This investment is a testament to the incredible wind energy resources found in Texas and the visionary state policies that have made Texas the nation’s wind power leader.”
The Spinning Spur project is located roughly 35 miles from Amarillo and was developed by EDF Renewable Energy, a member of The Wind Coalition. EDF Renewable Energy is an integrated energy company active in all areas of the energy market including generation, transmission, distribution, energy supply, and trading. The project will utilize 70 Siemens 2.3 megawatt turbines. The electricity produced has been contracted to SPS, a utility that primarily serves Texas and New Mexico. Spinning Spur is expected to produce enough energy to power over 60,000 average US homes.
The Wind Coalition is a non-profit association formed to encourage the development of the vast wind energy resources of the south central United States. The Wind Coalition is active in the Southwest Power Pool (“SPP”) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid systems, which cover all or part of eight states (Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, New Mexico, and Louisiana). The Wind Coalition’s members include developers, owners and operators of wind farms, turbine and component part manufacturers, law and engineering firms and public interest advocates.
More Information: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-wind-investment-deep-in-heart-of-texas.html#!/2013/01/a-wind-investment-deep-in-heart-of-texas.html
