Startup of Sherbino 2 Windfarm in Texas Marks BP's 1,000th Operating Turbine in U.S.

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Earlier this week, BP Wind Energy (Houston, Texas), the U.S. wind power subsidiary of BP plc (NYSE:BP) (London, England), held the dedication ceremony to mark the official commencement of commercial operations at the company's Sherbino 2 windfarm in west Texas, about 30 miles east of Fort Stockton in Pecos County. The opening of the windfarm also marks a milestone for BP, as the company now has more than 1,000 operating turbines in the U.S.

In a press release, BP noted that by the end of 2012, BP Wind Energy "will have invested almost $5 billion and will have a total electrical generating capacity of some 2,600 megawatts (MW), located across eight U.S. states."

The Sherbino 2 windfarm uses 60 Clipper Liberty C96 model 2.5-MW wind turbine-generators, for a total generating capacity of 150 MW. Construction at the 20,000-acre site began late last summer. The project has an estimated total investment value of $325 million. The windfarm joins the 150-MW Sherbino 1 windfarm, which uses 50 Vestas V90 turbine-generators and began commercial operations in 2008. While the Sherbino 1 windfarm is a joint venture of BP Wind Energy and NRG Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NRG) (Princeton, New Jersey), the Sherbino 2 windfarm is fully owned and operated by BP.

"We have been building two to three projects each year since we started and have invested over $1 billion in wind power in Texas alone," said John Graham, president of BP Wind Energy.

In addition to the Sherbino 1 and 2 windfarms, other Texas windfarms in BP Wind Energy's portfolio are the 60-MW Silver Star 1 windfarm, which is in Eastland and Erath counties and began operating in 2008, and the 225-MW Liberty Hills windfarm in Archer and Young counties, which became operational earlier this month.

In addition to these completed projects, as part of our Renewable Energy Database, Industrial Info is tracking more than $4.3 billion in BP wind projects in North America that are planned or under way and are scheduled to begin operations from this year through 2015. The projects have an estimated combined generating capacity of more than 2,100 MW, although the generating outputs for some of the projects in the early planning stages have not been finalized. BP Wind Energy's project portfolio will continue to grow as the deadlines for states' renewable portfolio standards approaches and the increasing availability of transmission infrastructure in remote areas opens the door to increased wind power development.

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