Spinning Spur Wind Ranch

The Spinning Spur Wind Ranch is a 516 megawatt (MW) wind farm spanning the length of southern Oldham County in the northwest panhandle region of the U.S. state of Texas. The project was developed by Cielo Wind Power and EDF Renewable Energy in three phases that came online from 2012 to 2015.[1][2][3][4] Phases 2 and 3 are enabled by the Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ) transmission infrastructure completed in 2013 that was designed to bring electricity generated in energy-resource-rich western regions to industrialized population centers in the central and eastern regions of the state.[5][6]

Spinning Spur Wind Ranch
Official nameSpinning Spur Wind Ranch
CountryUnited States
LocationOldham County, Texas
Coordinates35°16′37″N 102°40′58″W
Construction beganJune 2012
Commission dategradually thru Sept 2015
Owner(s)Google (SS1),
EDF Renewables (SS2),
BlackRock and EDF Renewables (SS3)
Operator(s)EDF Renewable Services
Wind farm
TypeOnshore
Power generation
Units operational254 turbines
Make and model70 Siemens SWT-2.3 MW
87 GE 1.85 MW
97 Vestas V100-2 MW
Nameplate capacity516 MW
Capacity factor46.5% (average 2016-2017)
Annual net output2,100 GW·h

Details

Construction began in June 2012 on the first phase of the facility located 30 miles west of Amarillo and spread over nearly 38,500 acres.[1][2] It completed in December 2012 and includes 70 Siemens SWT-2.3 MW wind turbines having blade diameters of over 100 meters.[7] The electricity is being sold to Amarillo-based Southwestern Public Service Company (a subsidiary of Xcel Energy) which services customers throughout western Texas and eastern New Mexico. Google announced upon the projects completion that it had invested $200 million in ownership of the facility.[8]

Construction on the second phase began in June 2013 located 40 miles west of Amarillo and spread over an additional nearly 14,000 acres.[3] It completed in December 2013 and includes 87 GE 1.85 MW turbines having 87 meter blade diameters.[9] For the first ten years, the electricity is being sold into the ERCOT grid which services 90% of the consumption in the state. This portion of the facility is solely owned by EDF Renewable Energy, with financing assistance from GE Energy Financial Services and MUFG Union Bank.[6]

The third phase of construction began in October 2014 and completed in September 2015.[4] It is located 50 miles west of Amarillo and spread over 18,000 acres. It uses 97 Vestas V100-2.0 MW turbines with 100 meter blade diameters.[10] The electricity is being sold to utilities in the City of Georgetown and the City of Garland. It provides for the majority of the consumption by Georgetown, which aims to source 100% of its electricity from renewables.[11] BlackRock announced upon the projects completion that it had taken a 50% ownership stake in the facility, along with EDF Renewable Energy.[12]

EDF Renewable Energy provides operational and maintenance support for all three phases of the facility via continuous monitoring from its operations and control center.[6]

Electricity production
Spinning Spur Electricity Generation (MW·h)
YearSpinning Spur 1
(161 MW) [13]		Spinning Spur 2
(161 MW) [14]		Spinning Spur 3
(194 MW) [15]		Total Annual
MW·h
2012 52,370*-- 52,370
2013 687,016-- 687,016
2014 712,566232,131*- 944,697
2015 666,425547,504224,955* 1,438,884
2016 686,636611,912814,372 2,112,920
2017 679,474596,215811,106 2,086,795
Average Annual Production (years 2016-2017) →2,099,858
Average Capacity Factor (years 2016-2017) →46.5%

(*) partial year of operation

See also

References
  1. "Spinning Spur 1 Wind". EDF Renewables. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  2. "Spinning Spur Wind Ranch". Cielo Wind. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  3. "Spinning Spur Two Wind Ranch". Cielo Wind. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  4. "Spinning Spur 3 Wind". EDF Renewables. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  5. "Transmission and CREZ Fact Sheet" (PDF). poweringtexas.com. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  6. "Spinning Spur II Wind Farm Project, Texas". Power Technology. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  7. "Spinning Spur I (USA)". thewindpower.net. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  8. David Goldham (January 10, 2013). "Google invests $200 million in Texas wind farm". CNN Business.
  9. "Spinning Spur II (USA)". thewindpower.net. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  10. "Spinning Spur II (USA)". thewindpower.net. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  11. "Wind Turbines Powering Georgetown". City of Georgetown. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  12. "BlackRock Close on the Sale of 50 Percent Interest in the 194 MW Spinning Spur 3 Wind Project". Business Wire. November 20, 2015.
  13. "Spinning Spur 1, Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  14. "Spinning Spur 2, Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  15. "Spinning Spur 3, Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
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