Silvia Ortin, COO Onshore Wind and Solar PV Americas, RWE Renewables: "Blackjack Creek Wind Farm significantly expands our portfolio of onshore projects in the U.S., one of our focus markets. We're building a balance of wind, solar and storage resources, helping us deliver on our net capacity clean energy targets."
RWE continues to expand its renewables portfolio in the U.S. Blackjack Creek, a 240-megawatt (MW) onshore wind farm, located in Bee and Refugio counties, Texas, is under construction. The project is expected to be online in late 2021.
"We look forward to the successful completion of the project and the ultimate value it will provide to the local community and, especially, to the local school districts," said Silvia Ortin, Chief Operating Officer North America. "Our unmatched experience with projects on the Texas coast ensures Blackjack Creek will deliver affordable, clean, renewable energy and further expand renewable energy in the U.S."
The project, located in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) south market, will be powered by 50 4.8 MW Nordex turbines and will generate enough green electricity to power more than 72,000 homes.
Blackjack Creek is expected to generate more than $53 million in revenue locally, including an estimated $30 million for the local school districts. During construction, the project expects to employ more than 200 workers.
"We welcome RWE and the Blackjack Creek Wind Farm to our community," said Ken Haggard, Commissioner, Bee County. "It's been a good working relationship and we're excited the company decided to bring this significant investment to our county to help diversify the tax base and provide a positive economic impact to the area."
The U.S. accounts for more than one third of the RWE Group's renewables capacity playing a key role in RWE's strategy to grow its renewables business. RWE constructs, owns and operates some of the highest performing wind, solar and energy storage projects in the U.S.
RWE has significant experience in the U.S. onshore market with 28 projects in operation, with more to come, and is building the Hickory Park solar project with co-located storage.
As an established leader in renewables, RWE has recently entered into a joint venture, New England Aqua Ventus, focused on floating offshore wind in the state of Maine.
