Enel starts construction of 450MW High Lonesome wind farm in Texas

Wind industry news : Enel Green Power North America, the US renewable subsidiary of Enel, has started the construction of the 450MW High Lonesome wind farm in Texas.

The wind farm is being built with an investment of around $600 million in the Upton and Crockett counties. Upon its completion, the High Lonesome wind farm will be the largest wind farm in the global renewables portfolio of Enel.

The wind farm is likely to begin operations by the end of this year. After being fully operational, the High Lonesome wind farm can produce about 1.7 TWh annually while offsetting the emission of more than 1.1 million tons of CO2 per year.

In Texas, Enel currently operates the 63MW Snyder wind farm built in Scurry County.

Commenting on the High Lonesome wind farm, Antonio Cammisecra – Head of Enel Green Power, said: “The start of construction of our largest wind project to-date represents a major commitment to growing our business in the US and specifically in Texas.

“The project underscores our ability to work with partners to tailor energy solutions to fit their needs and continue to manage and deliver to our customers the complex deals necessary in today’s evolving energy market. We look forward to continuing to serve as the partner of choice, dedicated to delivering a sustainable energy future.”

The power generated by a 295MW portion of the High Lonesome wind farm will be hedged via a long-term Proxy Revenue Swap (PRS) with insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Inc.’s alternative risk transfer unit and Nephila Climate, a provider of weather and climate risk management products.

The PRS is a financial derivative agreement designed to generate stable revenues for the project irrespective of fluctuations in power prices and weather-driven intermittency.

As per the agreement, the High Lonesome wind farm will get fixed payments based on the expected value of energy production in the future, with adjustments paid on how the realized proxy revenue of the wind farm differs from the fixed payment. The PRS for High Lonesome was executed in collaboration with renewable energy risk management and information services provider REsurety.

Lee Taylor – Co-Founder, and CEO, REsurety, said: “Renewable energy projects are under increasing pressure to deliver predictable returns despite the increasing volatility of the value of intermittent generation.

“We developed the Proxy Revenue Swap specifically to deliver unrivaled certainty of cash flows, regardless of power price volatility and weather-driven intermittency. We are delighted to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Enel, Allianz and Nephila to bring the largest PRS transaction to fruition.”