PORTALES, New Mexico (Jan 5, 2016): EDF Renewables (EDF RE)announced today that the 250 megawatt (MW) Roosevelt Wind Project in New Mexico reached commercial operation on December 15, 2015.
The Project, located within Roosevelt County, New Mexico, roughly 18 miles southwest of Portales, commenced construction of its 125 Vestas 2 MW wind turbines in January 2015. Southwestern Public Service Company (SPS), a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, will purchase the electricity generated pursuant to a 20-year, fixed-price power purchase agreement.
The facility will generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 138,000 average New Mexico homes, according to US Energy Information Administration. As a result, this project will prevent approximately 725,000 metric tons* of new greenhouse gas emissions per year, the equivalent of the annual emissions from approximately 150,000 passenger vehicles.
“EDF RE is pleased to have commenced commercial operation of the Roosevelt Wind Project – our first facility in the business-friendly state of New Mexico, and would like to thank the residents of Roosevelt County and surrounding areas for helping us reach this important milestone,” commented Ryan Pfaff, Executive Vice President at EDF Renewables. “We are also excited to again be working with Southwestern Public Service Company to supply clean, competitively-priced electricity to its customers for years to come.”
EDF Renewables is one of the largest renewable energy developers in North America with 7.6 gigawatts of wind, solar, storage, biomass and biogas projects developed throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
*According to the US Environmental Protection Agency Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies