RWE continues to expand its renewables portfolio in North America, one of the company’s strategic core markets, by the commissioning of two new onshore wind farms with a total installed capacity of 348 megawatts (MW). Both wind farms produce enough electricity to supply the equivalent of altogether more than 104,000 US-households.
The Boiling Springs wind farm was constructed with a capacity of 148 MW in Woodward County, Oklahoma, with a total of 60 GE turbines.
The East Raymond onshore wind farm has an installed capacity of 200 MW and is located in South Texas. The project is powered by 91 Vestas turbines. Next to the plant, RWE is currently constructing the West Raymond wind farm with an installed capacity of 240 MW. Commissioning of the plant has been scheduled for the first quarter of 2021. RWE will continue to operate and maintain the wind farms on behalf of the project partners while retaining a 25 percent interest in the projects.
“We are delighted that with East Raymond our eighth project on the Texas coast is now fully operational. Additionally, we are excited to bring online Boiling Springs, our first project in the State of Oklahoma, a new and highly-attractive market for us. Thanks to our experienced teams we were able to continue to deliver outstanding projects in a difficult environment with an unrelenting focus on health and safety. We are also grateful for the support of the local communities and landowners,” explains Silvia Ortín Rios, COO Onshore Wind and Solar PV Americas at RWE Renewables.
RWE has already secured the offtake for both wind farms. For the East Raymond wind farm a 12-year Power Purchase Agreement with Austin Energy was signed back in 2019. In the same year RWE agreed on a Power Purchase Agreement with American Honda Motor Co., Inc. The carmaker has contracted a large part of the electricity generated at Boiling Springs (proportionately from 120 MW installed capacity). The offtake is part of one of the largest-ever renewable energy purchases in the US by the automotive industry to date.
North America is one of the key strategic markets RWE wants to continue to expand into, building on a strong development pipeline. RWE’s installed capacity in the US accounts for one-third of the company’s total capacity in the area of renewables. By the end of 2022, RWE aims to expand its global renewables portfolio to more than 13 gigawatts of net capacity by investing €5 billion net. Together with partners, the gross investment volume can amount up to €9 billion. To achieve its growth targets, RWE has an attractive project development pipeline of more than 22 gigawatts, across all of the company’s strategic core regions.