Ground broken for monster Mojave wind energy project

Renewable energy developers broke ground Tuesday for a major expansion of wind-power generation in the Mojave Desert, north of Los Angeles.

The Alta Wind Energy Center is planned as the world’s largest wind project, with nearly 600 turbines capable of producing 1,550MW of electricity when completed, with the potential to double, according to developer Terra-Gen Power LLC of New York City.

The currently funded first five phases will produce 720MW, according to a company statement.

Financing for the initial phases totaled $1.6 billion, the company said.

The project is being developed in a region studded with turbines that use the energy of winds sweeping across the Tehachapi Mountains to produce electricity.

Southern California Edison, which has contracted to buy 1,550MW from Alta Wind, recently completed the first phase of a transmission system to carry electricity from renewable energy sources in the Mojave Desert, to the Los Angeles region.

The groundbreaking comes two years after Terra-Gen Power and ArcLight Capital Partners LLC purchased Tehachapi-area wind farm assets from Allco Finance Group Ltd. of Sydney, Australia, for $325 million. Allco, which was restructuring after problems stemming from the global credit crunch, had negotiatied the power deal with SoCal Edison in 2006.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger hailed the Terra-Gen Power project in a statement.

“Having the world’s largest wind project break ground in our state is tangible evidence that our pioneering policies are drawing investment, improving the economy and creating jobs now when we need them most,” he said.

In late June, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power commissioners approved a long-term pact for more than 100MW from an expansion of the Milford Wind Farm in Utah. The deal requires City Council approval. The DWP already receives 185MW from the original 200-MW Milford wind farm.

Vestas receives record-setting order — 570 MW for California

Vestas received a 570 MW order for 190, V90-3.0 MW turbines for Terra-Gen’s Alta Wind Energy Center near Tehachapi, California. The order has been placed by subsidiaries of Alta Wind Holdings, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Terra-Gen Power, LLC. Terra-Gen’s V90-3.0 MW purchase is Vestas’ largest order for a single site. The Alta project also sets several important benchmarks:

• It will be one of the largest wind power plants in the United States.

• The bank financing, bond issue, and sale leaseback financing of the Alta project make it the largest financing of a North American wind-energy project and the first wind-energy leveraged lease placed in the debt capital markets.
“When completed, the project will be the largest wind farm for which we have supplied turbines in our 31-year history as well as the biggest in California,” says Martha Wyrsch, President of Vestas Americas. The contract includes delivery and commissioning as well as a five-year service and maintenance agreement. Delivery begins scheduled for late 2010. The first 50 turbines will be commissioned by the end of 2010 and the remaining equipment will be online in the first half of 2011.

“The project represents an important expansion to the renewable generating base of California and helps us advance our nation’s goals of achieving energy independence in an environmentally responsible manner, ” says Terra-Gen CEO Jim Pagano.

Vestas’ manufacturing operations in Colorado will produce wind components for this order. Blades for the Alta project will be produced at Vestas’ blades factory in Windsor, Colorado. And most of the towers will be manufactured at Vestas’ new tower factory in Pueblo, Colorado.

Terra-Gen Power, LLC, is an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners and Global Infrastructure Partners. With more than 830 MW of generating capacity in operation and 720 MW of generating capacity under construction, Terra-Gen is one of the nation’s largest renewable energy providers and the only U.S. company that provides electricity on a utility scale from all three renewable-energy sources: wind, solar and geothermal power. Terra-Gen has 21 renewable-energy facilities operating in six states, and more than 5,000 MW of renewable energy capacity under development.

The Alta Wind Energy Center is supported by a 1,550 MW power purchase agreement with Southern California Edison to sell renewable energy. This order marks Vestas’ eighth North American deal announced in 2010, totaling 1,336 MW this year among four turbine types.

Vestas, a manufacturer of high-tech wind power systems, has supplied more than 40,500 wind turbines to 65 countries since 1979. The company is investing upwards of $1 billion in the USA to establish its North American manufacturing base, which includes a tower manufacturing facility, a nacelle-assembly factory, and two blade factories. The firm delivered its first wind turbine to North America in 1981 and since has supplied more than 11,000 turbines in this region.

Vestas

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