The Pattern Energy Group said this week that its Western Spirit Wind project, a group of four wind farms capable of producing together a total of 1050 MW, is now online and producing its full output. It took the company just over a year to complete the project. "This project literally changed the map of our state’s energy landscape, allowing New Mexico to help power our nation with clean electrons,” said US senator Martin Heinrich.
Western Spirit uses 377 GE wind turbines ranging from 2.3 to 2.8 MW in capacity. The turbines are mounted at various tower heights to optimise the amount of wind they capture at each of the four installations.
GE’s 2 MW onshore platform has generated more than 20 GW of installed capacity since its introduction in 2015. The turbines work in 10 countries and 23 American states.
Pattern Energy has signed power purchase agreements with utilities in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area and in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The company said in a press release that the wind power generated by Western Spirit Wind “will provide resource diversification to western energy markets to help meet customer demand during the crucial early evening hours when demand is high but otherwise available renewable energy supply is typically low.”
According to Pattern Energy, the project is also expected to generate an estimated $3 million per year for the three counties and two school districts in the project area.