RWE has commenced commercial operations in two wind farms in the U.S. market; total capacity of both installments reach 348 megawatts of potency which is enough to power 104,000 U.S. homes, the company announced this Wednesday.
The installments are the Boiling Springs wind farm, with a capacity of 148 MW, located in Woodward county, Oklahoma, and its powered by 60 GE turbines.
The second wind farm is the East Raymond wind, with a capacity of 200 MW, located in South Texas, this project is powered by 91 Vestas turbines. Next to this plant, RWE is building an additional wind farm, the West Raymond wind project, that will have a capacity of further 240 MW.
According to the company’s statement, the commissioning of this new plant will begin in the first quarter of 2021; on top of this, RWE will maintain operations at the farms, in accordance with the project’s partners, maintaining RWE’s 25% interest.
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RWE secures largest renewable energy purchase by automotive industry to date
The offtake of both wind farms, Boiling Springs and East Raymond, has already been secured by RWE. For East Raymond, by a 12-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Austin Energy; for Boiling Springs, by a PPA with American Honda Motor Company.
“The carmaker has contracted a large part of the electricity generated at Boiling Springs (proportionately from 120 MW installed capacity). The offtake is part of one of the largest-ever renewable energy purchases in the US by the automotive industry to date,” RWE’s statement underlines.
“We are delighted that with East Raymond our eighth project on the Texas coast is now fully operational. Additionally, we are excited to bring online Boiling Springs, our first project in the State of Oklahoma, a new and highly-attractive market for us,” said Silvia Ortín Rios, RWE’s COO.
On her side, Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, CEO of RWE, commented: “We are rigorously expanding our renewables portfolio and North America is one of our strategic core markets in this process. Boiling Springs and East Raymond are already the 26th and 27th onshore wind farms we have completed in the US. They will supply clean and affordable electricity, primarily for Honda’s vehicle manufacturing and Austin Energy’s customers.”
“Our integrated business model encompasses all stages of the value chain – from project development, to construction and operation, right through to commercialization. The offtake agreements with Honda and Austin Energy demonstrate that this is exactly the right approach,” she concluded.
