It’s an exciting time for the energy sector in California. The state is now home to the second-largest onshore wind farm on earth, the Alta Wind Energy Center (AWEC). The wind battery energy storage facility, also known as the Mojave Wind Farm, is owned by Terra-Gen Power and is expected to deliver 150 megawatts of electricity out of Kern County. The massive investment in the renewable power source is a flagship effort that demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of this alternative to traditional power generation strategies.

1500 MW of energy produced at Mojave Wind Farm

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has given Alta Wind Battery Energy Storage System the green light to initiate operations in California with a right-of-way decision. The 150 megawatts will go a long way toward serving the state’s vast power demand, with 257,000 homes expected to be powered by the wind. Up to 1,200 megawatt hours will be stored to supply reliable, clean power from the Alta Wind Energy Center.

BLM California acting State Director Gordon Toevs extolled the benefits of wind farms:

“Battery energy storage projects like Alta Wind support the delivery of reliable and increasingly clean energy to consumers. The BLM continues to advance clean energy development and enhance America’s energy security.”

The Alta 1 Wind Facility is already operational, and the 25-acre project will fall within the current right-of-way. The additional facilities will include climate-controlled containers to house batteries and gas fire suppression systems for safety.

The project will supply clean renewable energy to SCE (Southern California Edison) for at least the next 25 years under the wind power development plan. The site is on 3,200 acres in Kern County, in the foothills of the Tehachapi Mountains. The original wind farms were built decades ago in the 1970s and 80s at altitudes from 3,000 to 6,000 feet.

600 Wind turbines serving 257,000 California homes with clean energy

The Mojave Wind Farm project will entail installing around 600 wind turbines – a significant project with terrific long-term benefits. An estimated 257,000 homes will be powered by green energy, which is a significant step in the journey to a cleaner future.

Construction of the Mojave Wind Farm

The 600 wind turbines will be constructed together with supporting facilities, service roads, a batching plant, power collection system, overhead and underground transmission lines, and electrical infrastructure.

A SCADA system will be put in place to monitor data via communication cables. A meteorological tower and lightning protection system are also on the cards.

Generation capacity

Units I to V formed the first phase of the AWEC project. Unit 1 was constructed with GE 1.5 MW SLE turbines. Units II to V were constructed with Vestas V 90-3.0MW turbines wih capacities as follows, respectively: 150 MW, 150 MW, 102 MW, and 168 MW.

Financing of the Alta Wind Energy Centre

Unit I of the AWEC came in at a cost of $394 million and financing was spread across the seven-year construction as a term loan, another bridge loan to ITC (Investment Tax Credit), US Department of Energy cash grants, and various other credit facilities. Institutions involved in the financing include Nataxis New York, Robobank Nederland, Banco Santander, Prudential Investment Management, the Union Bank, and Credit Agricole CIB.

Units II to V cost $1.2 billion and were financed by Credit Suisse, Barclays Capital, and Citibank.Google put up $55 million to invest in Unit IV and $102 million in Unit V.

It’s hoped that other countries and power companies will be inspired by the Alta Wind Energy Center to construct and invest in similar facilities in the worldwide effort to reduce carbon emissions. The success of the Mojave Wind Farm will undoubtedly go a long way towards generating investor confidence as the state of California benefits from clean and renewable energy.