SAN PATRICIO COUNTY AND ROSCOE, TEXAS — Construction began recently for the Papalote Creek wind farm, a 15,000-acre project located in San Patricio County, approximately 30 miles north of Corpus Christi. Once the project is complete, its 109 turbines will generate approximately 180 megawatts of electricity — enough to power approximately 54,000 homes. Completion is expected in October, after which the project is expected to generate more than $200 million for the local economy.
“A 180-megawatt project is a large project,” says Patrick Woodson, chief development officer for E.On Climate & Renewables, which is building the wind farm. “Three or four years ago, it would have been a huge project, but you’re seeing a number of projects come along now of that scale.”
Texas is leading the way in these large projects. According to an annual report released by the American Wind Energy Association, Texas produced 7,118 megawatts of electricity from wind power in 2008. This leads every other state in the country by a wide margin. In fact, the report states that if Texas were a country, it would rank sixth in the world in total wind production, behind Germany, the rest of the United States, Spain, China and India.
But the Papalote Creek wind farm is not even the largest project E.On has in the state. In the west Texas town of Roscoe, the company is finishing Phase IV of its Roscoe wind farm. Upon completion this summer, the facility will contain more than 600 turbines and generate 781.5 megawatts of electricity.
“We’re very optimistic that wind power has a bright future here in Texas,” Woodson says. “We’re expecting the number of installed megawatts to more than double in the next 10 years and play a significant role in providing energy for Texans.”
— Coleman Wood
To read more about wind energy in Texas, please see the June issue of Texas Real Estate Business.