DOE has commenced construction of the federal government’s largest wind energy project, at the Pantex nuclear weapons stockpile facility in Texas.
The Pantex Plant (Texas DSHS)
On August 13, 2013, the Department of Energy (DOE) officially began construction of the 11.5 MW Pantex Renewable Energy Project, the federal government’s largest wind project, at Pantex Plant, the nation’s primary nuclear weapons stockpile facility in Texas.
The five-turbine project, spanning 1,500 acres to the east of Pantex Plant, will have an annual electricity generation capacity of approximately 47 million kilowatt-hours. Upon completion, the project will annually supply more than 60 percent of Pantex Plant’s electricity needs and reduce carbon emissions by more than 35,000 metric tons. The project is expected to reach completion by July 2014.
The wind farm is expected to generate an average annual savings of $2.8 million, which will fund its construction through an 18-year Energy Savings Performance Contract. According to DOE, federal agencies have committed to approximately $2.3 billion to more than 300 projects, in response to President Obama’s 2011 directive to establish $2 billion worth performance-based contracts in energy efficiency within two years.
DOE expects the project to help attain the administration’s new energy goal – unveiled in President Obama’s June Climate Action Plan – requiring the federal government to obtain 20 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Recent DOE reports show record wind industry growth, with wind power accounting for 43 percent of new electricity generation capacity in 2012. Texas leads the nation, with more than 12 GW of cumulative wind capacity at the end of 2012.
August 14, 2013 via Energy Solutions Forum
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