CMS Energy has purchased a majority stake in Aviator Wind, a 525 MW wind energy project in Texas that will support efforts by Facebook and McDonald’s to achieve their clean energy goals. The project will start operations by the fall in Coke County, about 250 miles southwest of Dallas.
Aviator Wind will be operated by CMS Enterprises, a subsidiary of CMS Energy that develops, owns and operates utility-scale renewable energy facilities, including wind and solar.
“Through Aviator Wind, we’re proud to continue the drive toward sustainable energy and help two of the nation’s largest organizations meet their aggressive renewables goals,” says Richard Mukhtar, president of CMS Enterprises.
“Facebook and McDonald’s join a growing roster of CMS Enterprises customers that have access to the full spectrum of energy products and services that we provide under one roof,” he adds.
CMS Enterprises is focused on U.S.-based utility-scale wind, solar and energy storage projects it can develop, own and operate for large customers, including electric cooperatives and municipalities. Most recently, CMS Enterprises started operating Northwest Ohio Wind, a 105 MW project that generates clean energy committed to General Motors. With the Aviator Wind acquisition, CMS Enterprises now owns and operates 11 independent power plants and more than 1,800 MW of generation nationwide.
Aviator Wind will help Facebook – the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in the U.S. in 2019 – reach its goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 75% and support 100% of its operations with renewable energy this year. McDonald’s is the world’s first restaurant company to set a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target approved by the Science Based Targets initiative.
CMS Enterprises purchased the project’s majority stake from funds managed by Ares Management Corp.’s Infrastructure and Power strategy, which constructed and managed the project. Kansai Electric Power is the project’s other major partner.
Photo: CMS Enterprises’ Projects web page
