RWE, one of the leading renewable energy companies in the U.S. and worldwide, has signed two 15-year Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Microsoft Corporation. Under the PPAs, Microsoft will purchase clean electricity from two new RWE onshore wind farms in Texas.
The official groundbreaking for the RWE Peyton Creek II onshore wind farm has just taken place and for the Lane City project, RWE made the investment decision. The two onshore wind projects have a combined capacity of 446 megawatts (MW).
Andrew Flanagan, CEO of RWE Clean Energy: “As RWE, we are excited to be working with Microsoft to provide the clean electricity they need to achieve their sustainability goals. Together, we’re united in our efforts to deliver a clean energy future. As a growing green business, we are committed to driving our renewable targets, supporting local communities grow sustainably.”
To build the Peyton Creek II and Lane City onshore wind farms, RWE has brought together leading renewable industry companies Vestas, Wanzek Construction, Inc., a MasTec Renewables company, and RES, a global renewable energy solutions company.
RWE will use the V163 4.5 MW turbines from Vestas North America. RWE has enlisted Wanzek and RES to lead construction activities at Peyton Creek II and Lane City on behalf of RWE.
Construction of the Peyton Creek Wind Complex is underway. The 243 MW project is located near RWE’s Peyton Creek I wind farm in Bay City, Texas, which has been in operation since March 2020. Construction of the Lane City project will start this summer. It has a capacity of 203 MW.
The projects underscore RWE’s leadership position as a preeminent clean energy player and will expand its footprint in Texas. Texas is RWE’s largest U.S. market, with 33 operational renewable projects totaling 4.3 GW of installed capacity, enough to power 2.76 million homes per year. Once the two projects are completed, RWE’s renewables footprint in Texas will grow to 4.8 GW, strengthening its position in this section of the ERCOT market. This will add to RWE's current renewables portfolio in the U.S. of 9.3 GW across wind, solar and batteries.
RWE is committed to partnering with the communities in which it owns and operates renewables facilities to ensure long-term economic benefits, employment opportunities and tax revenues to support local schools, law enforcement, fire districts and other essential services. Both Peyton Creek II and Lane City are expected to generate between 250-300 jobs each during construction and 20 full-time jobs once operational. Additionally, Peyton Creek II will provide approximately $300 million to the local tax base in Matagorda County and Lane City will provide $300 million to the local tax base in Wharton County.
