Sustainable Energy

Spanish renewable energy firm to build 46 turbine wind farm in Texas

Key Points
  • The Palmas Altas facility will be Acciona Energia's ninth in the U.S.
  • The project will generate around 524-gigawatt hours per year.
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Spanish renewable energy business Acciona Energia is to build a new wind farm in Texas.

The Palmas Altas facility will be located in Cameron County and have a capacity of 144.9 megawatts, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

Around $200 million will be invested in the project, which will generate roughly 524 gigawatt-hours of energy annually. Acciona Energia said this output was equivalent to the consumption of 43,000 U.S. homes.

Some 170 people will be employed during the peak construction phase of the project, which will use Nordex turbines with a rotor diameter of 125 meters.

Rafael Esteban, CEO of Acciona Energy USA Global, said that the new project "confirms our commitment to grow in a controlled and profitable manner in a market that continues to offer very interesting opportunities for the renewables sector."

The U.S. is home to "one of the largest and fastest-growing wind markets in the world," according to the Department of Energy. On its website, the American Wind Energy Association describes Texas as "a national leader in the wind energy industry" that has more than 12,000 wind turbines and employs over 22,000 people in the sector.

Acciona Energia currently owns and operates eight wind farms in the U.S. Grid connection for the Palmas Altas project is scheduled for November 2019.