The German-based Uniper Technologies (UTG) and Pattern Energy—a subsidiary of US-based Pattern Development—recently announced that they have signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for up to 219,000 MWh per year of wind energy in New Mexico, USA.
The power will be delivered from Pattern Energy’s 1,050 MW Western Spirit wind project, which is currently under construction in New Mexico and represents the largest single-phase renewable power buildout in US history.
The wind power project is being constructed in conjunction with the Western Spirit Transmission Line, an approximately 150-mile (241-km), 345 kV AC transmission line that will add much-needed accessibility for New Mexico’s powerful wind resources to reach the electricity grid in the state and the broader western markets. The transmission line is being developed jointly between Pattern Energy and the New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority (RETA), and will interconnect directly with the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) system. The latter will acquire and operate the transmission line upon its commissioning.
The wind power project is expected to be completed by end-2021.
