Gulf Wind is a 271
megawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...
wind farm
A wind farm, also called a wind park or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an exten ...
located on the
Texas Gulf Coast
Texas Gulf Coast is an intertidal zone which borders the Coast, coastal region of South Texas, Southeast Texas, and the Texas Coastal Bend. The Texas coastal geography boundaries the Gulf of Mexico encompassing a geographical distance relative be ...
in
Kenedy County. It is operated by
Pattern Energy
Pattern Energy Group LP is an American company that develops, owns and operates utility scale wind and solar power facilities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California with an operations center in ...
which is based in San Francisco. The wind farm’s output is contracted under a 20-year
power purchase agreement with
Austin Energy
Austin Energy is a publicly owned utility providing electrical power to the city of Austin, Texas and surrounding areas. Established in 1895, the utility is a department of the City of Austin and returns its profits to the city's general fund t ...
.
History
Gulf Wind first generated electricity for the
Texas power grid in November 2008,
with all turbines expected operational by September 2010. Gulf Wind's former owner
Babcock & Brown
Babcock & Brown LP (B&B) was a global investment and advisory firm, established in 1977, based in Sydney, Australia, that went into liquidation in 2009.
Babcock & Brown Securities LLC is an active investment banking firm focused on equipment an ...
sold the development rights to
Pattern Energy
Pattern Energy Group LP is an American company that develops, owns and operates utility scale wind and solar power facilities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California with an operations center in ...
in 2009.
In 2021 Pattern Energy replaced its
Mitsubishi
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...
2.4 MW turbines with
Siemens Gamesa
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, S.A. was formed in 2017 in a merger of Siemens AG, Siemens' Wind Power division with Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica, S.A.; it is a Spanish-German wind engineering company based in Zamudio, Biscay, Spain. The co ...
SWT-2.3-108 turbines. This changed total output from 283.3 to 271.4 MW.
Hurricane Harvey
Gulf Wind farm was operational during most of
Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey was a devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cy ...
's landfall in Texas in August 2017, with turbines only shutting down when winds reach , and returning to normal operation the next day.
See also
*
Wind power in Texas
Wind power in Texas, a portion of total energy in Texas, consists of over 150 wind farms, which together have a total nameplate capacity of over 30,000 MW (as of 2020).
*
List of wind farms
Lists of wind farms include:
*List of onshore wind farms
*List of offshore wind farms
__NOTOC__ Wind farms by country
* List of wind farms in Australia
* List of wind farms in Canada
* List of wind farms in China
* List of offshore wind farms in ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulf Wind Farm
Buildings and structures in Kenedy County, Texas
Wind farms in Texas