News

LCRA picks E.ON Climate and Renewables for major renewable expansion
 
December 18, 2009 - Today E.ON Climate & Renewables (EC&R) North America and the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) announced the signing of an 18-year power purchase agreement. Under the agreement, LCRA will purchase the entire output from phase II of EC&R’s Papalote Creek wind farm – approximately 200 megawatts (MW) of power.

“We are pleased to have the Lower Colorado River Authority as a partner in the next phase of the Papalote Creek wind farm,” said Steve Trenholm, CEO, EC&R North America. “This project is expected to produce its greatest output during periods of peak usage, which is truly an exceptional benefit.”

Phase II of the Papalote Creek wind farm is expected to become operational in 2010 and will consist of 87 turbines that will provide approximately 200 MW of electricity – enough energy to power more than 45,000 homes. The wind complex is located 30 miles north of Corpus Christi in San Patricio County and is EC&R’s second wind farm in South Texas.

“This agreement continues the commitment to clean, wind-generated electricity that LCRA began when it participated in Texas’ first commercial wind power project in 1995,” said Tom Mason, LCRA General Manager. “We are pleased to bring more renewable power into the diverse mix of generation resources that serves our wholesale electric customers.”

LCRA purchases and generates power from water, wind, coal and natural gas and sells it wholesale to more than 40 cities and electric cooperatives that serve more than 1.1 million Central Texans. The agreement with E.ON Climate & Renewables nearly triples LCRA’s current capacity for wind-generated power.

Construction of the first phase of the Papalote Creek wind farm began in April of 2008. The phase was completed in November of 2009 and currently consists of 109 turbines that provide about 180 MW of power.

EC&R North America also recently completed the fourth and final phase of the world’s largest wind farm in Roscoe, Texas. The wind farm touts 627 wind turbines and a total capacity of 781.5 MW. EC&R currently has an installed capacity of 1,667.5 MW in the United States.

About EC&R
E.ON Climate & Renewables (EC&R) is responsible for the E.ON group’s renewable energy and environmental protection activities around the world. Tapping renewable energy sources offers enormous alternatives, both from a business perspective and for the environment. E.ON Climate & Renewables will be investing €8 billion in renewable
energy and environmental protection projects from 2007 - 2011 to expand the share of renewable energy in E.ON’s portfolio for the long term. E.ON has thus taken a leading role in developing renewable energy sources worldwide. For more information, please visit www.eon.com/renewables.

About LCRA
The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) is a nonprofit conservation and reclamation district that provides energy, water, and community services to Texans. Created by the Texas Legislature in 1934, LCRA has no taxing authority and operates solely on utility revenues and service fees. LCRA supplies electricity to more than 1.1 million Texans through 43 wholesale customers. LCRA also provides many other services in the region. These services include managing floods, protecting the quality of the lower Colorado River and its tributaries, providing parks and recreational facilities, offering economic development assistance, operating water and wastewater utilities, and providing soil, energy, and water conservation programs. For more information, visit www.lcra.org.