Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions commenced commercial operation of its 182-MW Maryneal Windpower project in Nolan County, Texas.
In 2019, cellular service Sprint signed a 12-year virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) for 173.3 MW of the wind generated by the project, which will reduce parent company T-Mobile’s carbon production by 9%.
“Projects like Maryneal Windpower play a huge role in T-Mobile’s commitments to fight climate change and bring us another step closer to achieving our goal of using 100% renewable energy by the end of 2021 — even after our merger with Sprint in 2020 almost doubled our company footprint,” said Brigitta Witt, T-Mobile vice president of Social Impact and Sustainability.
Maryneal Windpower created approximately 200 jobs during peak construction and the site will provide local tax revenues to the county and local school districts during assessment years and payments to participating landowners.
“Wind projects such as Maryneal contribute to a cleaner, stronger economy and help create a more diverse energy infrastructure in Texas,” said Chris Fallon, president of Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions. “We’re excited to work with T-Mobile to create jobs, strengthen the local economy and generate clean energy, while also helping them address their renewable energy goal.”
Wanzek Construction was the contractor for the project, and Nordex USA supplied 38 4.8-MW wind turbines for the site. Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions will perform the site’s long-term maintenance and operations.
The Maryneal project increases Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions’ U.S. wind capacity to over 3,000 MW. The site will provide enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of more than 54,000 U.S. homes.
News item from Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions
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