Sweetwater, also known as ‘Detroit of Wind.’ has pioneered the Texas wind energy industry. The Sweetwater Wind Farm is one of the largest in Texas, after Roscoe, Horse Hollow, and Capricorn Ridge Wind Farms.
With 150 wind farms, Texas has more wind energy installed than any other state in the USA. The wind energy industry in Texas is the leading source of renewable energy in the state.
Where is Sweetwater, Texas?
Sweetwater is a well-known municipality in Nolan County, Texas. The city is called the ‘Wind Turbine Capital of Texas.’ Nolan County has the highest concentration of wind turbines in North America.
Sweetwater, as of a 2019 estimate, has a population of 10,469. It is a landlocked municipality with a total size of 11 square miles or 28.68 square kilometers. Sweetwater is also the seat of Nolan County.
As the Lone Star State, Texas is one of the largest wind energy producers in the world. If it were a country, the energy generated by Texas from wind would rank fifth globally. In this regard, Sweetwater holds a significant role in the wind energy industry.
How many windmills are in Sweetwater, Texas?
According to data from USGS, there are 392 turbines in the five phases of Sweetwater, Texas.
Where is the Sweetwater Wind Farm?
Sweetwater wind farm is west of Abilene and east of Big Spring. The first three phases are in the city of Sweetwater, while the fourth and fifth are in Roscoe City, Texas, and Nolan County.
The wind farm is nearby other large-scale wind farms in Taylor and Nolan Counties, like Roscoe Wind Farm (781.5 MW) and Buffalo Gap Wind Farm (517.9 MW).
Why is Nolan County an ideal place for the renewable energy industry?
The renewable energy industry is looking for steady wind, underutilized transmission lines to connect to, and wide, flat plains.
The National Science Foundation classifies Nolan County’s winds as strength class 3. This means the wind in Sweetwater is excellent for generating wind energy.
Nolan County is also a hub of Texas’s CREZ (Competitive Renewable Energy Zone) transmission lines. CREZ is a $7 billion investment by the state of Texas in 2007 to transmit the wind resources of sparsely populated West Texas to the populated areas.
The transmission lines have brought 18 GW of installed capacity to the Texas grid and attracted large-scale solar farms to utilize the transmission lines.
The CREZs were significant in helping Texas achieve its renewable portfolio standard (RPS) goals 15 years early in 2010. According to the American Wind Energy Association, the Texas wind industry reached the 10 GW installation capacity target in 2010, initially aimed for 2025.
How large is Sweetwater Wind Farm?
The farm is 85,460 acres or 345 square kilometers large.
Who owns the Sweetwater Wind Farm?
Duke Energy and Infigen Energy own the Sweetwater Wind Farm.
When is the first power of Sweetwater Wind Farm?
Sweetwater Wind Farm had its first power in 2005, after commissioning phases 1, 2, and 3. Phases 4 and 5 generated first power two years later, in 2007
Who are the offtake partners of Sweetwater Wind Farm?
Austin Energy and CPS Energy of San Antonio are the buyers of the energy produced by the Sweetwater Wind Farm.
What are the economic benefits of the Sweetwater Wind Farm?
According to a 2020 report by IEEFA (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis), the wind industry has sustained the economy of Nolan county in the past two decades. Specifically for Sweetwater, the seat county led this growth by hosting the Sweetwater wind farm, which continued to expand until 2007 in its full commissioning.
Furthermore, the following benefits were evident as well, according to IEEFA:
- The wind farm has generously increased the tax base for Nolan county to fewer than 15,000 people. 6 of the top 10 industry taxpayers and 11 of the top 20 are from the wind industry
- Nolan county was able to survive the decline in oil production in Texas in 1999 by building commercial-scale wind farms in the 2000s
- Job wages in the industry average at $25 an hour, which is competitive with the oil and gas industry
- The wind industry in Nolan County continues to attract newcomers who support the wind industry, such as service companies, educational institutions, and manufacturing.
- The wind farm gave a second chance to landowners looking to earn from their land after the decline in oil production in Texas in the 90s. Royalty payments can last up to 30 years.
- Sweetwater projects 2 and 4 contributed $420,967 in taxes in 2019.
More so, the excellent air quality is the direct result of using clean energy such as wind, translating to indirect health benefits. Lastly, greenhouse gas emissions drop because of wind, which is phenomenally lower in carbon emissions than coal and natural gas.
How much power does the Sweetwater Wind Farm produce?
The installed capacity of the Sweetwater wind farm is 585 MW of wind power.
The wind energy production of Sweetwater wind farm ranks as the eleventh biggest among onshore wind farms in the US.
The average capacity of wind turbines on the farm is 1.6 MW per wind turbine. The strongest wind turbines in the farm have a 2.3 MW capacity in phases 4 and 5, compared to the earlier phases, which only had a capacity between 1 MW and 2 MW.
How many phases are in the Sweetwater Wind Farm?
Duke Energy developed five phases in the Sweetwater Wind Farm. Developers installed the first three phases in 2005 and the fourth and fifth phases in 2007.
| Sweetwater Wind Farm | Number of Turbines | Turbine Manufacturer | Turbine Capacity | Phase Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 25 | GE | 1.5 MW | 37.5 MW |
| Phase 2 | 61 | GE | 1.5 MW | 91.5 MW |
| Phase 3 | 90 | GE | 1.5 MW | 135 MW |
| Phase 3 | 135 / 46 | Mitsubishi / Siemens | 1.0 / 2.3 MW | 240.8 MW |
| Phase 5 | 35 | Siemens Gamesa | 2.3 MW | 80.5 MW |
| Wind Farm Total | 392 | Various | Various | 585.3 MW |
How many much power does each phase generate?
The first phase has a 37.5 MW capacity with 25 GE 1.5 MW wind turbines.
The second phase of the farm is currently at 91.5 MW installed capacity using 61 GE 1.5 MW turbines.
There are 90 GE 1.5 MW wind turbines in the third phase. The fourth phase delivers 240.8 MW of installed capacity, with 135 Mitsubishi 1.0 MW wind turbine generators and 46 Siemens 2.3 MW turbines.
Finally, the fifth phase comprises 35 Siemens 2.3 MW wind turbines.
Leeward energy also made improvements to the farm via the repowering program of GE in 2018, leading to a slight increase in installed capacity per project.
How many windmills are in Sweetwater wind farm?
According to USGS, there are 392 turbines in the five phases of the Sweetwater wind farm.
Who manufactured the turbines in Sweetwater?
Siemens, GE, and Mitsubishi manufactured the wind turbine blades and generators.
According to USGS data, the Sweetwater wind farm uses 176 GE Wind turbines, 135 Mitsubishi wind turbines, and 81 Siemens wind turbines.
The most common hub height is 80 meters, and the longest wind turbine blade diameter (rotor diameter) used in the farm is 92 meters.