Arizona Public Service Company (APS) has entered into a 200MW power purchase agreement with Leeward Renewable Energy for electricity from the latter’s two Aragonne wind farms in the US state of New Mexico.
The 20-year deal follows a Request for Proposal issued last year by APS and will see Leeward repower the existing 90MW Aragonne project and build the 145MW Aragonne Mesa development in Guadalupe County.
APS first purchased power from the existing Aragonne wind farm in 2006 when the project began operating commercially.
“Repowering of this existing project, coupled with the new wind generation, fits squarely with APS’s efforts to advance Arizona’s clean energy future by adding new renewable resources to its energy mix and bringing customers direct cost-saving benefits through energy efficiency products and smart energy home programs,” APS said.
The new projects will feature GE turbines and are expected to start delivering power by the end of next year.
APS vice president of resource management Brad Albert said: “Renewable energy resources like this wind power are important to a diverse and increasingly clean energy mix for Arizona.
“By working with supplier partners like Leeward, APS is advancing toward our target of having 45% of our generation portfolio in renewable energy by 2030 on the path to 100% clean energy by 2050.
“We are moving toward that future while continuing our focus on serving customers with reliable, affordable energy.”
Leeward chief development officer Andrew Flanagan said: “Leeward is pleased to partner with APS on an innovative project that will repower one of our legacy wind assets and also enable the construction of a new wind facility, bringing economic benefits to the local community.
“We look forward to working alongside the APS team as we continue to actively develop new wind, solar and energy storage projects across the US.”