Country United States Status Operational Construction cost >US$1 billion Units operational 634 | Commission date 2009 Type Onshore | |
Roscoe wind farm at sunrise
The Roscoe Wind Farm in Roscoe, Texas, owned and operated by E.ON Climate & Renewables is one of the world's largest capacity wind farms with 634 wind turbines and a total installed capacity of 781.5 MW. At the time of its completion in 2009, it was the largest wind farm in the world, surpassing the nearby 735.5 MW Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center. In 2012, it was overtaken by California's 1,020 MW Alta Wind Energy Center.
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Roscoe was constructed in four phases. The first phase, Roscoe, was constructed in 2008 and consists of 209 Mitsubishi 1 MW turbines. Phase two is called Champion was also completed in 2008 and includes 55 Siemens 2.3 MW machines. The third phase is called Pyron. Its 166 GE 1.5 MW turbines were commissioned in mid-2009 shortly before the fourth phase, Inadale, was completed. Inadale adds 197 more Mitsubishi 1MW turbines to the existing project.
The project cost more than $1 billion and provides enough power for more than 250,000 average Texan homes. It is located about 200 miles (320 kilometers) west of Fort Worth, spanning parts of four Texas counties and covering nearly 100,000 acres (400 km2), several times the size of Manhattan.
Cliff Etheredge, a local cotton farmer, helped to organize the project. In addition to its large size, the farm is also notable for the large number of individual land owners (as many as 400) who share in royalties from the project. Wind farms are helping to revive the local economy in remote areas of West Texas and the Texas Panhandle.
The Roscoe Wind Farm and Cliff Etheredge are featured in the 2010 documentary film, Carbon Nation.