Karankawa Wind Farm : Avangrid Renewables commissions 307MW wind project in Texas

Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of Avangrid, has begun the commercial operations of the 307MW Karankawa Wind Farm in Texas, taking the company’s wind portfolio in the US state to 1.2GW.

The Karankawa wind project, which is located across the San Patricio and Bee counties in southern Texas, spans over 18,000 acres of land.

The Avangrid wind farm is powered by 124 of GE’s wind turbines ranging in the capacity between 2.3 and 2.52MW.

According to Avangrid Renewables, the Karankawa Wind Farm is its sixth and largest wind farm in Texas. The Texan wind farm will be able to meet the power consumption needs of more than 75,000 homes annually.

Alejandro de Hoz – Avangrid Renewables President and CEO said: “We are excited to grow our Texas footprint and look forward to being part of the community in Bee and San Patricio counties for decades to come.

“We value the opportunity to work with Austin Energy and Nike and are proud to help our customers achieve their ambitious sustainability goals.”

Avangrid Renewables commissions the 307MW Karankawa Wind Farm in Texas. Photo courtesy of Pexels from Pixabay.

The Karankawa Wind Farm will supply clean energy to Austin Energy and Nike under previously signed power purchase agreements. In January 2018,

Austin Energy has a goal to meet 65% of its customers’ energy demand from renewable resources by the year 2027. On the other hand, Nike has committed to power 100% of its own or operating facilities with renewable energy by the year 2025.

Jackie Sargent – Austin Energy general manager said: “Austin Energy, with the support of the Austin City Council, is proud to continue our longstanding leadership in wind energy. Because this project is located along the coast, gulf breezes will generate more energy during the day, matching the needs of the Texas electric market and benefiting customers.”

The Karankawa Wind Farm is expected to improve the region’s farming economy by bringing more than $29 million in land lease payments and $60 million in taxes for the next 20 years of its operations. Construction on the Karankawa wind project involved more than 350 people.