Enel Green Power North America has started construction of the around 450MW High Lonesome wind farm in Upton and Crockett Counties in Texas.
The $600m project is being financed through Enel’s own resources and is expected to enter into operations by the end of 2019.
It will generate around 1.7 terrawatt-hours of electricity a year.
Enel Green Power head Antonio Cammisecra said: “The start of construction of our largest wind project to-date represents a major commitment to growing our business in the US and specifically in Texas.
“The project underscores our ability to work with partners to tailor energy solutions to fit their needs and continue to manage and deliver to our customers the complex deals necessary in today’s evolving energy market.
“We look forward to continuing to serve as the partner of choice, dedicated to delivering a sustainable energy future.”
Enel has entered into a proxy revenue swap for a 295MW portion of the project with insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty and Nephila Climate, a provider of weather and climate risk management products.
The swap is a financial derivative agreement designed to produce stable revenues for the wind farm regardless of power price fluctuations and weather-driven intermittency, Enel said.
Under the terms of the agreement, High Lonesome will receive fixed payments based on the expected value of future energy production, with adjustments payed depending on how the realised proxy revenue of the project differs from the fixed payment.
The deal, which is the first agreement of its kind for Enel, was executed in collaboration with REsurety, a renewable energy risk management and information services company.
Allianz Risk Transfer managing director Karsten Berlage said: “The construction of High Lonesome is a strong testament to the popularity and success of innovative renewable energy protections.
“The majority of today’s stakeholders champion the continued growth of renewables and that is why Allianz is committed to flexible strategies such as the PRS that mitigate those risks – long term.”