The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) has nearly tripled its capacity for clean, renewable wind power with the recent completion of the Papalote Creek Wind Farm expansion near Corpus Christi.

LCRA in December 2009 signed an 18-year agreement with E.ON Climate & Renewables (EC&R) North America to buy the power generated by Papalote Creek II, which will provide about 200 megawatts (MW) of clean power using 87 Siemens 2.3-MW wind turbines. EC&R recently completed the expansion project, more than doubling the capacity of its wind farm in San Patricio County. LCRA estimates the additional power will serve more than 45,000 households.

LCRA will use the energy it receives to serve its 43 wholesale electric customers, most of which are municipally owned utilities and electric cooperatives in the Central Texas region. LCRA also has long-term contracts for 116 MW of wind power from three West Texas wind farms, including the state’s first commercial scale wind power facility. The Papalote Creek II project is different because the wind in the Gulf Coast region tends to blow more often when demand for power is highest in Central and South Texas.

"LCRA is pleased to be part of this project, which we believe will provide long-term value to our customers and the consumers they serve," said Dan Kuehn, Executive Manager of LCRA Wholesale Power Services. "LCRA has a long-standing commitment to renewable energy, and this facility will provide added benefit by providing clean energy to our customers during the hottest part of the hottest summer days, when energy use is at its peak in Central Texas."

The addition of this wind power will bring LCRA’s wind power capacity to 316 MW, more than 9 percent of its total electric generation capacity. LCRA provides energy to its customers under long-term contracts using diverse fuel sources that also include coal, natural gas and hydroelectric power.

"We are honored to be a part of the San Patricio County community, and we look forward to providing economic support and renewable, homegrown energy for many years to come," said Steve Trenholm, CEO, EC&R North America.

About LCRA
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 more than 40 wholesale customers. LCRA also provides many other services to 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.

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 - 2012 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.