Acciona Energía has started construction work on a wind project representing the company’s second in Texas and ninth in the U.S.
Comprising 46 Nordex AW125/3150 wind turbines, the Palmas Altas project will have a capacity of 144.9 MW and will be grid-connected in November 2019. Located in Cameron County, the wind farm is sited near the San Roman wind farm, which Acciona began operating in December 2016.
Representing an investment of $200 million, the project is expected to produce around 524 GWh of clean energy per year, equivalent to the consumption of 43,000 U.S. households. The energy will be sold in the ERCOT-South Texas wholesale market.
“We are proud to be furthering our investment in the United States, one of our main strategic markets where we remain alert to any opportunity offered by this promising sector,” says Rafael Esteban, CEO of Acciona Energy USA Global LLC.
The Palmas Altas project will employ approximately 170 people at the peak of construction. When the wind farm is complete, a 10-person operations team will staff the project over its 25-year lifespan.
Acciona currently owns and operates eight wind farms in the U.S. In addition to San Roman (93 MW), the company has three others in Oklahoma (329 MW), two in the Dakotas (192 MW), one in Illinois (101 MW) and one in Iowa (6 MW).
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