Flat open spaces frequently capture wind energy, so installing them in mountains and mountain passes is not done as often. But as proven in wind farms in California with Alta Wind Energy Center and Tehachapi Wind Pass Farms, adding windmills in high places is a good thing.
The policy for wind power in the Southeastern United States allowed Tennessee Valley to install Buffalo Mountain Wind Farm in 2000. Today, the Buffalo Mountain Wind Farm powers 3,400 households.
Invenergy’s Investment
The facility began delivery in 2000 with only three turbines and a 3-MW capacity. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) built the farm while Invenergy expanded it in 2004. Each Invenergy turbine has a rated capacity of 1.8 MW, adding 27 MW to the wind farm’s total capacity.
| Buffalo Mountain Phase | Year | Number of Turbines | Capacity Factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 2000 | 3 | 3 MW |
| Phase 2 | 2004 | 15 | 27 MW |
| Total | Today | 18 | 30 MW |
Location of the Wind Farm
The wind farm is North of Oliver Springs and Oak Ridge in Anderson County, Tennessee.
Local Wind Speeds
The Buffalo Mountain Wind Farm should not be viable enough based on NREL wind speed estimates.
NREL, however, only published the maps as a general estimate for quick reference. Local conditions notwithstanding, the numbers from the agency still require validation. Southern Alliance for Clean Energy conducted the on-site study to validate the numbers.
According to the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy study, the wind farm produces twice as much as the expected output. In 2012, the study cited that the wind farm produced 48,000 megawatt-hours of electricity from Invenergy’s wind turbines.
The study showed that for an ample amount of time in 2012, the maximum output of the wind farm exceeded the expectations of the project. NREL’s estimates place the wind speeds at 4 to 5 meters per second in the area. These numbers could not attain the capacity that the turbines achieved in 2012 at 20%.
Wind Farms powering TVA
Other than Buffalo Mountain Wind Farm, TVA also has had power purchase agreements with the following wind farms:
- White Oak Energy Center
- Cimarron Wind Farm
- Caney River Wind Farm
- Bishop Hill Wind Energy Center
- California Ridge Wind Energy Center