With recent approval from the Public Utility Council of Texas, construction of the community-sponsored Hale Wind Project will begin this June, Dallas-based Tri Global Energy (TGE) has announced.
Located near Plainview in Hale County, Texas, the project is made up of four wind farms for which TGE was the exclusive developer and manager: Cotton Wind Farms, East Mound Renewable Energy, Hale Wind Farm and Lakeview Wind Farms. The project, previously sold to NextEra, is now owned by Xcel Energy.
Each project was launched under TGE’s business model, the Wind Force Plan, which allows local landowners and community investors the opportunity to partner with and have a substantial ownership in the wind project development leasing their land. Under the direction of TGE, the four wind farms joined together in 2013 to form one of the largest community-sponsored wind projects in the U.S.
“The start of construction of Hale Wind Project, following a year of record growth for Tri Global Energy, is a clear and strong message about the success of our community-based business model,” says John Billingsley, TGE’s chairman and CEO. “And it’s also important to note that this project is expected to continue benefiting local communities for years to come. Wind energy provides diversified income to farmers and ranchers, enabling them to continue using their land as they always have – to help feed the nation and the world. Now they’re also helping power the U.S. with clean, renewable energy.”
