Alta Wind Energy Center

Alta Wind Energy Center (AWEC), also known as Mojave Wind Farm, is the third largest onshore wind energy project in the world. The Alta Wind Energy Center is a wind farm located in Tehachapi Pass of the Tehachapi Mountains, in Kern County, California. As of 2022, it is the largest wind farm in the United States,[1] with a combined installed capacity of 1,550 MW (2,080,000 hp). The project, being developed near Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm— site of the first large-scale wind farms installed in the U.S. in the 1970s and 1980s—is "a powerful illustration of the growing size and scope of modern wind projects".[2][3]

Alta Wind Energy Center
CountryUnited States
LocationTehachapi Pass, Kern County, California
Coordinates35°1′16″N 118°19′14″W
StatusOperational
Commission date2010
Construction cost$ 2.875 billion (units I-IX)
Wind farm
TypeOnshore
Site area130 km2
Power generation
Units operational600
Make and modelVestas
Nameplate capacity1,550 MW
Capacity factor23.5% (average 2014-2019)
Annual net output3,189 GW·h
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons

Southern California Edison has agreed to a 25-year power purchase agreement for the power produced as part of the power purchase agreements for up to 1500 MW or more of power generated from new projects to be built in the Tehachapi area. The project will "reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 5.2 million metric tons, which is equivalent to taking 446,000 cars off the road".[2] A total of 3000 MW is planned.[4]

The wind farm was developed by Terra-Gen Power which closed a US$1.2 billion financing deal in July 2010 with partners that included Citibank, Barclays Capital, and Credit Suisse. After many delays, the first phase began construction in 2010. Financing for additional phases of $650 million was secured in April 2012. Construction of the Alta Wind Energy Center is expected to create more than 3,000 domestic manufacturing, construction, and maintenance jobs, and contribute more than one billion dollars to the local economy.[2]

History
Alta Wind Energy Center and Tehachapi Pass wind farm from space, 2019

The original "Alta-Oak Creek Mojave Project" plan consisted of up to 320 wind turbines occupying a 9,000-acre (36 km2) area while producing 800 MW of power. That project was originally developed by Oak Creek Energy Systems under the contract with Terra-Gen, but the project development was later transferred to Terra-Gen. The project then became the first development under the umbrella of Alta Wind Energy Center.[5]

The Alta-Oak Creek Mojave Project is generally located at the south side of the Oak Creek Road, starting a few miles west of the state route 14 in Mojave and continuing westward along the Oak Creek Road to the west side of the Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road.[6]

According to the American Wind Energy Association, two initial projects were completed in fall 2010, the 150 MW Alta II (Vestas) project using 50 3 MW generators and the 150 MW Alta I project using 100 1.5 MW generators.[7] Three subsequent projects 150 MW Alta III, 102 MW Alta IV, and 168 MW Alta V projects were completed in the 2nd quarter of 2011 using 50, 34, and 56 3 MW Vestas V-90 wind turbines. Alta VIII and Alta VI projects, comprising 300 MW, were completed in late 2011/early 2012, but they were renamed Brookfield Tehachapi 2 and Mustang Hills respectively. Alta VII and IX projects comprising 300 MW, were completed in December 2012 (bringing the total to 1320 MW), but they were renamed to Pinyon Pines Wind I and Pinyon Pines Wind II.[8]

138 MW Alta X and 90 MW Alta XI are under development with scheduled completion in late 2013, 180 MW Alta XIII in 2019.[9]

Overview

[10]

PlantOperatorCapacity
(MW)		CommissionedCost, $
Alta Wind Energy Center ITerra-Gen Operating Co150Jan 2011394 million [11]
Alta Wind Energy Center IITerra-Gen Operating Co150Jan 20111200 million (units II-V)
Alta Wind Energy Center IIITerra-Gen Operating Co150Feb 2011
Alta Wind Energy Center IVTerra-Gen Operating Co102Apr 2011
Alta Wind Energy Center VTerra-Gen Operating Co168Apr 2011
Everpower Wind HoldingsMustang Hills (Alta Wind VI)[12]150May 2012631 million (with unit VIII)
Pinyon Pines Wind IPinyon Pine I (Alta Wind VII)[13]168Nov 2012650 million (with unit IX)
Alta Wind VIIIBrookfield Energy Marketing150Jan 2012
Pinyon Pines Wind IIPinyon Pine II (Alta Wind IX)[13]132Nov 2012
Alta Wind XTerra-Gen Operating Co138Jan 2014
Alta Wind XITerra-Gen Operating Co90Jan 2014

Electricity production
Alta Wind Farm Generation (MW·h)
YearAlta I
150 MW [14]		Alta II
150 MW [15]		Alta III
150 MW [16]		Alta IV
102 MW [17]		Alta V
168 MW [18]		Alta VI
150 MW [19]		Alta VII
168 MW [20]		Alta VIII
150 MW [21]		Alta IX
132 MW [22]		Alta X
138 MW [23]		Alta XI
90 MW [24]		Total Annual
MW·h
2011 395,703336,193364,270149,373239,021------ 1,484,560
2012 353,793296,135318,407150,322243,738181,71818,115-12,689-- 1,574,917
2013 398,985348,908361,051178,777283,238302,869363,653285,358258,485-- 2,781,324
2014 403,255328,958349,245168,320269,901304,728365,507282,719255,597328,080249,985 3,306,295
2015 341,120279,829300,282134,744220,012252,832288,517231,524202,586309,408222,142 2,782,996
2016 413,363360,216380,465183,393293,378314,587346,699294,789250,438364,926276,368 3,478,622
2017 366,518325,932350,502162,752263,466289,326319,578251,380230,440340,379248,865 3,149,138
2018 399,302 349,772 361,029 178,715 284,839 303,482 339,370 270,077 244,263 373,532 261,386 3,365,767
2019 366,019 366,720 261,255 150,299 311,896 264,116 275,335 237,117 203,749 366,641 246,686 3,049,833
Average Annual Production (years 2014-2019)3,188,775

See also

References
  1. "Top five biggest wind farms in the US". Construction Review Online. Retrieved Mar 17, 2022.
  2. Terra-Gen bags $631m for more phases at California's Alta Wind Archived 2014-12-24 at the Wayback Machine Renewable Energy World, 29 July 2010.
  3. World's Largest Wind Project is Underway Archived 2011-08-29 at the Wayback Machine Recharge, June 3, 2011
  4. "GE Acquires California Wind Farm, UK Energy Management Firm". Archived from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  5. "Frequently Asked Questions". Alta Wind Energy Center. 2010. Archived from the original on July 25, 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  6. "Notice of Preparation of a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (Alta Infill II)" (PDF). Kern County, California. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  7. California U.S. Wind Energy Projects - California Archived 2010-10-07 at the Wayback Machine, AWEA, Oct 22, 2010
  8. "CNBC: MidAmerican Wind Announces Completion of 300-Megawatt Pinyon Pines Wind I and II Projects". CNBC. Retrieved Jul 29, 2019.
  9. "California Renewables Portfolio Standard: RPS Project Status Table 2013 July". Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved Jul 29, 2019.
  10. "Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory: Inventory of Operating Generators as of February 2017". Archived from the original on 2017-05-01. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  11. "Alta Wind Energy Center (AWEC), California". www.power-technology.com. Retrieved Aug 27, 2019.
  12. "About innogy". iam.innogy.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved Jul 29, 2019.
  13. "BHE Renewables". www.bherenewables.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2019. Retrieved Jul 29, 2019.
  14. "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  15. "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  16. "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  17. "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  18. "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  19. "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  20. "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  21. "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  22. "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  23. "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  24. "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
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