AES has begun construction of a 233 MW wind project near Abilene, Texas, and has signed a 10-year power purchase agreement with Texas retail electric provider Direct Energy.
The AES project, Buffalo Gap 2, is an expansion of the company’s 121 MW Buffalo Gap wind farm which began operations near Abilene earlier this year, according to AES. Once completed, the two projects together will be one of the largest operating wind farms in the U.S. and will have the capacity to generate enough energy to power about 100,000 homes.
“The Buffalo Gap expansion is consistent with AES’s strategy to grow our wind generation business in highly attractive markets like Texas. We plan to continue to expand in Texas and have a number of additional projects currently underway,” said Ned Hall, AES Vice President, Wind Generation. “Signing a second PPA with Direct Energy, the counter party for the first phase of AES’s Buffalo Gap project, furthers our partnership with one of the largest purchasers of green electricity in Texas.”
AES purchased 155 GE 1.5 MW wind turbine generators for the project. D.H. Blattner & Sons is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project. Commercial operation is expected in mid-2007.