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Clear Sky
135 MW Wind Power
Generation Facility
Project Information
Project
Overview
In February 2001, Enron Wind entered into a long-term
agreement with Enron Power Marketing Inc. (EPMI) wherein
EPMI would purchase clean, wind generated capacity for
resale to its customers. The Clear Sky Wind Power Project is
a collaborative transaction in which Enron Wind will build a
135 megawatt wind power facility near Iraan, Texas, in Pecos
County, and, EPMI will purchase the project’s clean,
renewable electricity under a long-term agreement for resale
into the Texas wholesale electricity market. This is the
first significant facility to allow wholesale green power
customers to purchase portions of the wind power production.
In the past, customers interested in purchasing “green
power” were often forced to commit to 100 percent of a
project’s output over the 20-year life of the equipment.
Subsidiaries of Enron Wind will develop, construct and
operate the Clear Sky project.
Power
Purchasers
Enron Power
Marketing Inc. (EPMI), a business unit of Enron Corp,
headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Project
Developer/Operator
Enron Wind, a
business unit of Enron Corp. A pioneer and leader in the
wind industry since 1980, Enron Wind is a vertically
integrated wind power company. The company has developed
and/or sold over 4,500 wind turbines, comprising more than
1,600 MW of capacity worldwide. Enron Wind's manufacturing
facilities in California, Germany, and Spain develop and
manufacture state-of-the-art wind turbine technology ranging
from 600 kW to 2.0 MW.
Project
Location
Ten miles
southeast of Iraan, Texas in Pecos County.
Power Purchase
Agreement
Signed: January
10, 2001
Term: 20 Years
Project Capacity: 135
MW
Annual Generation: approximately 520,000 megawatt
hours per year
# Wind Turbines: 90
Technology
Manufacturer:
Enron Wind
Wind Turbine Type: Enron Wind 1.5 MW Series.
Enron Wind's 1.5 MW Series turbine is the largest wind
turbine manufactured in the United States, was the first of
its size class to be manufactured for the global wind power
market, and has the longest track-record of any MW class
turbine. The Enron Wind 1.5 MW wind turbine utilizes a
variable speed, constant frequency design and a custom
designed airfoil resulting in enhanced reliability and
durability due to reduced mechanical loads, higher energy
capture and lower noise signature than conventional fixed
speed turbines due to improved aerodynamics. Interconnect
costs are reduced due to selectable power factor and voltage
control compared with conventional turbines with induction
generators and fixed capacitors. For more information on the
1.5 MW wind turbine, please visit our website at
www.wind.enron.com.
Rated Output: 1.5
MW
Foundation:
Each wind turbine foundation
consists of a concrete cylinder 18-24 ft. deep by 11 ft.
wide (14 ft. outside diameter) Footprint: 14 ft. circular in
diameter - spaced 1 - 2,000 feet apart
Concrete: 96 tons
per foundation (8,640 tons to complete all 90 foundations,
or 540 truckloads
- enough to make a 3’x3’ sidewalk
approximately 29.6 miles long.
Tower: Tubular Steel
Height: 65 meters
Weight: 89 tons (178,000 lbs. or
84 metric tons)
Blades:
Length: 34 meters
Rotor
Diameter: 70.5 meters – 10% longer than the wingspan of a
jumbo jet (a Boeing 747-400 has a wingspan of 64 meters).
Revolutions per minute: 11-20 (one revolution every 2-3
seconds)
Swept Area: 41,995 sq. feet per turbine or
1.7 times the sail area of a clipper ship. The clipper ship
Star of India has 24,000 sq. feet of sail area (see
www.sdmaritime.com).
Construction
Schedule:
Groundbreaking:
May 2001
Completion: November 2001
Schedule:
May 2001 - Grading of roads, turbine
pads and foundations begin.
July 2001 - Turbines and
towers begin arriving at the site, and erection begins.
Collection system lines begin to be ran from the turbine
sites to the on-site substation.
September 2001 -
Substation completed and turbines are placed on-line and
commissioned.
November 2001 - Project
complete
Environmental
Benefits:
The installation
will provide enough electricity to serve approximately
50,000 average American households, or 134,000 people. If
oil were burned to generate the same amount of electricity,
over 866,000 barrels per year would be
required.*
Annual
Offsets:
The 90 Enron
Wind 1.5 MW wind turbines can be expected to offset 790
million pounds (395,000 tons) of carbon dioxide, the leading
greenhouse gas associated with global warming, based on U.S.
average fuel mix. Other emissions offsets include: 4.2
million pounds (2,000 tons) of sulfur dioxide - the major
cause of acid rain, pollution of waterways, and air-born
particulate pollution; and 2.5 million pounds (1,300 tons)
of nitrous oxide.
Wind Energy:
Wind energy was the
world's fastest growing energy source during the 1990's,
with an annual average growth rate of over 25%, and its pace
has accelerated in recent years. The American Wind Energy
Association currently expects U.S. installed wind generating
capacity to increase by 60% to 80% by the end of next year –
an increase that would amount to approximately $1.5 billion
to $2 billion in new construction.
Some 600 MW of new
wind energy projects are currently proposed or under
development in Texas, representing an increase of over 300%
for the state and an investment of approximately $600
million.
Benefits to the
Community:
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* Information
provided by the American Wind Energy Association
©2001
Enron Wind
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