Canadian wind power developer Western Wind Energy has secured a new, 100MW wind and solar energy site located near Barstow in the US state of California.
The site is located on 2,400 acres and is in an area with proven, high-energy wind speeds. Previous testing indicates a mean average annual wind speed in excess of 9m per second or over 20 miles per hour, capable of generating net operating capacity factors in excess of 40%, the company said.
The Barstow project is the first announcement of many new acquisitions that Western Wind Energy is currently developing as part of its previously announced ‘California Initiative’.
Western Wind Energy said that the Barstow wind resource area is the largest wind resource opportunity in California outside of Palm Springs and Tehachapi. The site is also home to over 400MW of solar thermal generating facilities.
Jeff Ciachurski, CEO, said: There was tremendous competition from the largest players in the investment banking and energy industries to acquire this exact piece of property. Western Wind’s access to proprietary information dating back to the 1970s allowed Western Wind to make and complete the opportunity, literally, a few weeks before our competition.