Engie North America has started constructing the $150 million 160MW Jumbo Hill wind project, in the US state of Texas.
The wind farm, in Andrews County, will use 57 GE turbines and is scheduled to be online by spring 2020.
Each turbine has a 127 metre rotor and is more than 2MW in capacity. Wanzek Construction will build the balance of the facility.
Jumbo Hill will generate electricity and Renewable Energy Credits for a corporate customer under a virtual power purchase agreement (PPA).
The wind farm has also entered into a proxy revenue swap for a portion of its generation with Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty’s specialist weather risk team, in collaboration with Nephila Climate.
Up to 250 people will be employed at the site during the height of construction activity, while the wind farm will employ up to 12 people long-term.
According to Engie, Jumbo Hill will also generate annual payments to landowners that will total millions of dollars over the life of the project, combined with purchases of local goods and services.
The wind farm will also generate nearly $30 million in tax payments.
In 2018 Engie North America acquired a portfolio, which included the Jumbo Hill project, from Infinity Power Partners, a joint venture between Infinity Renewables and MAP Energy.
REsurety Inc provided risk analytics supporting the swap transaction and will serve as the calculation agent on an ongoing basis.