Duke Energy Renewables has commenced commercial operations at its 200MW Mesteno wind farm in Starr County, Texas.
The project’s output will be sold into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market.
Duke has entered into a long-term hedge agreement covering the majority of the expected wind energy production.
Vestas supplied 56 3.6MW turbines for the site. Mesteno comprises turbines over 180 metres in height tall, some of the tallest in the US, according to Duke, to increase energy production.
Duke Energy Renewables president Rob Caldwell said: “We’re excited to bring another wind project online in Texas and plan to continue investing in renewable energy in the state.
“This project will deliver clean energy and significant economic benefits.”
During peak construction, the wind project created approximately 200 jobs. It will also deliver more than $16m in tax revenue over the first 10 years of its operation.
Vestas US and Canada sales and service division president Chris Brown said: “We’re pleased to expand our tall tower technology and V136-3.6 MW platform.
“The combination of taller towers and V136-3.6 MW technology is perfectly designed to extract the abundant resource at the site, and deliver low-cost, reliable energy to the community and customer.”
Amshore US Wind provided development support for the project, and Wanzek Construction was the contractor.