Roscoe Wind Farm Explained

Roscoe Wind Farm
Coordinates:32.2644°N -100.3442°W
Country:United States
Location:Texas
Status:Operational
Commissioned:2009
Cost:>US$1 billion
Ps Units Operational:627
Wind Farm Type:Onshore
Ps Electrical Capacity:781.5 MW
Ps Electrical Cap Fac:31.7% (average 2011-2017)

The Roscoe Wind Farm near Roscoe, Texas is one of the world's largest-capacity wind farms. With 627 wind turbines and a total installed capacity of 781.5 MW, owned and operated by RWE.[1] [2] At the time of its completion in 2009, it was the largest wind farm in the world, surpassing the nearby 735.5-megawatt Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center. In 2012, it was overtaken by California's 1,020-megawatt Alta Wind Energy Center.

Facility details

Roscoe was constructed in four phases. The first phase, Roscoe, was constructed in 2008 and consists of 209 Mitsubishi 1-megawatt turbines. Phase two is called Champion was also completed in 2008 and includes 55 Siemens 2.3-megawatt machines. The third phase is called Pyron. Its 166 GE 1.5-megawatt turbines were commissioned in mid-2009 shortly before the fourth phase, Inadale, was completed. Inadale adds 197 more Mitsubishi 1-megawatt turbines to the existing project.

The project cost more than $1 billion and provides enough power for more than 250,000 average Texan homes. It is located about 200miles west of Fort Worth, spanning parts of four Texas counties and covering nearly, several times the size of Manhattan.[3] [4] [5] [6]

Cliff Etheredge, a local cotton farmer, helped to organize the project. In addition to its large size, the farm is also notable for the large number of individual land owners (as many as 400) who share in royalties from the project.[7] Wind farms are helping to revive the local economy in remote areas of West Texas and the Texas Panhandle.[3]

The Roscoe Wind Farm and Cliff Etheredge are featured in the 2010 documentary film, Carbon Nation.

Electricity production

Roscoe Wind Farm Generation (MW·h)
Year Roscoe
209 MW Unit [8]
Champion
126.5 MW Unit [9]
Pyron
249 MW Unit [10]
Inadale
197 MW Unit [11]
Total Annual
MW·h
2008523,383 277,725 - -801,108
2009488,402 317,097 506,951 -1,312,450
2010532,548 349,945 559,509 384,4811,826,483
2011615,420 416,677 603,565 380,4432,016,105
2012596,742 413,620 716,988 476,4722,203,822
2013561,408 393,195 775,605 549,3002,279,508
2014591,896 406,486 811,344 592,6872,402,413
2015440,211 349,128 706,057 495,0051,990,401
2016562,424 308,250 772,988 539,1772,182,839
2017554,037 366,144 712,817 506,8792,139,877
Average Annual Production (20112017) 2,173,566

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Turbines to the max: Texas produces more wind energy than nearly anywhere else in the world. Weise. Elizabeth. Jervis. Rick. USA TODAY. en. October 18, 2019. 2019-10-19.
  2. Web site: The Roscoe Wind Farm Project, Texas, USA. 2020-10-21. www.power-technology.com.
  3. O'Grady, Eileen. E.ON completes world's largest wind farm in Texas Reuters, October 1, 2009.
  4. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/10/ec-r-completes-780-mw-roscoe-wind-farm EC&R Completes 780-MW Roscoe Wind Farm
  5. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=53650 E.ON Delivers 335-MW of Wind in Texas
  6. American Wind Energy Association. U.S. Wind Energy Industry Installs over 2,800 MW in First Quarter
  7. John Burnett. Winds of Change Blow into Roscoe, Texas NPR, November 27, 2007.
  8. Web site: Roscoe, Annual . Electricity Data Browser . . March 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180323211424/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/plant/56593/?freq=M&pin= . March 23, 2018 . live .
  9. Web site: Champion, Annual . Electricity Data Browser . . March 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180323211424/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/plant/56592/?freq=M&pin= . March 23, 2018 . live .
  10. Web site: Pyron, Annual . Electricity Data Browser . . March 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180323211424/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/plant/56981/?freq=M&pin= . March 23, 2018 . live .
  11. Web site: Inadale, Annual . Electricity Data Browser . . March 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180323211424/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/plant/56984/?freq=M&pin= . March 23, 2018 . live .