Increasing its Nation-Leading Wind Capacity: Texas Announces New Wind Developments

Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) announced that its Renewables Division will build a 200 MW wind farm in Willacy County, Texas.

Located on 30,000 acres of leased land just off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the Los Vientos I Windpower Project will be Duke Energy's fourth wind farm in Texas.

The company which already boasts 1,000 megawatts of operational wind generation capacity is rapidly growing its stake in the wind power sector. Since May 2011, including the Los Vientos project, Duke Energy has announced four new wind power projects that will combine to add over half of a gigawatt to its wind power portfolio. The company expects to break ground on construction in by the end of 2011 and plans to bring the wind farm online by the of 2012.

All of the electricity generated at the new wind facility will be sold to City of San Antonio-owned CPS Energy through a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA). Amongst community-owned utilities, CPS Energy, which currently harvests 859 MW, leads the nation with the largest renewable capacity. The renewable energy provided by the Los Vientos Project brings the company closer to meeting its 2020 target of sourcing 20 percent or 1,500 MW of its total generation capacity from renewables.

This PPA is the second between CPS Energy and Duke Energy. CPS Energy purchases electricity generated from the Duke Energy Renewables’ 14-MW Blue Wing Solar Project in San Antonio.

One day after the Los Vientos I announcement, Wind Energy Transmission Texas, LLC said that financing had been finalized for its latest transmission project.  This project will be key to Texas continuing to grow its nation-leading wind capacity.

The $500,000 will be used to construct five substations and 378 miles of transmission lines that will bring energy from wind farms in West Texas to major metropolitan areas. With funding in place, the company said that construction will begin next month and that it expects to be complete in the second quarter 2013.