Arizona’s first wind farm, a public-private partnership called the Dry Lake Wind Power Project, began operation this month.
The Dry Lake Wind Power Project is located on a combination of the
public lands managed by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land
Management, Arizona State Trust Lands, and private lands on the Rocking
Chair Ranch in Navajo County.
The project, which was developed by Iberdrola Renewables (IBR.MC), is composed of 30 Suzlon S88-2.1 megawatts (MW) turbines (SUZL.BO). It generates 63 MW of energy, which will be delivered to customers of Salt River Project.
When fully constructed, the project
could provide up to 378 MW of wind energy from 100 to 200
turbines.
“The partnership that built Arizona’s first commercial-scale wind energy project demonstrates a common desire to reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil by using our domestic renewable resources to meet a larger share of our energy needs. This strategy will also help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions to address climate change, while creating ‘green jobs’ around the nation,” Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said at the dedication ceremony near Heber, Arizona.
The Arizona Corporation Commission’s Environmental Portfolio Standard requires utilities to procure 15% of the state’s electricity from renewables by 2025.
Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the President and Congress made $41 million available to facilitate a rapid and responsible move to large-scale production of renewables on public lands.
Salazar offered a special note of thanks to private landowner Bill Elkins, of the Rocking Chair Ranch, who has been very supportive and actually was the person who proposed the area for this Project.
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