Pattern Energy Group 2 LP (Pattern Development) recently announced it has signed 15-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) and Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP) to deliver wind power from the 200 MW Duran Mesa Wind project in development near Corona, New Mexico. SVCE has signed a 15-year PPA for 110 MW and MBCP has signed a 15-year PPA for 90 MW.
“As a Community Choice Energy agency, signing onto a project of this magnitude marks a significant step in our maturity, financial strength and shows our commitment to supplying renewable energy for our communities,” said Courtenay Corrigan, SVCE Board Chair. “Silicon Valley Clean Energy is dedicated to the promise we made to our customers when we formed this agency — that we will provide clean, carbon-free power at competitive rates. This project helps us to continue reaching our decarbonization goals.”
“Through strategic partnerships with other Community Choice Energy agencies like Silicon Valley Clean Energy, Monterey Bay Community Power can leverage additional resources and buying power to develop bigger and more affordable renewable energy projects, which is a landmark achievement for MBCP only being in our first year of service,” said Bruce McPherson, MBCP Board Chair. “We are strongly committed to a diverse portfolio of energy resources and this project brings a wide variety of benefits that will be shared by our customers for years to come.”
“It’s a very positive sign for our industry that these two important public agencies are making their first long-term wind-power purchase agreements — and we’re honored to partner with them in New Mexico,” said Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Development. “We are making strong progress on our extensive development projects in New Mexico, where the wind resource is one of the strongest in the country and has an evening ramp that creates an ideal complement to California solar power. These contracts will increase Pattern Development’s contribution to California climate goals to well over a gigawatt of wind energy serving California customers.”
Construction of Duran Mesa Wind is anticipated to begin in late 2019, and the project is expected to reach commercial operation in late 2020. Power from the wind project will be delivered to California in part via the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project, a 520-mile 500-kV transmission line under development in New Mexico and Arizona by SouthWestern Power Group, which is also expected to achieve commercial operation by 2020. Duran Mesa Wind is a 200 MW project within Pattern Development’s 2,200 MW Corona Wind Projects in New Mexico.
Previously, Pattern Development completed the 265 MW Ocotillo Wind and 101 MW Hatchet Ridge Wind facilities in California, as well as the 324 MW Broadview Wind facilities that serve Californian customers from New Mexico. The 221 MW Grady Wind project in New Mexico is under construction and will also sell power to California customers. The company developed the 345kV AC Western Interconnect Transmission facility that connects to both Broadview Wind and Grady Wind. Pattern Development’s transmission team also constructed California’s first and only merchant transmission line, the Trans Bay Cable, which increased reliability and reduced rates for the San Francisco bay area.
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