Amazon adding new 253-megawatt wind farm in West Texas

Fuel Fix:
Amazon is investing in West Texas wind for its largest renewable energy project ever.

Seattle-based Amazon is teaming up with Chicago’s Lincoln Clean Energy to build the 253-megawatt Amazon Wind Farm Texas west of Abilene in Scurry County. One megawatt typically powers 200 homes on a hot Texas day.

The wind farm, which is slated to open by the end of 2017, will feature more than 100 wind turbines designed to help power Amazon’s Texas’ facilities and much more. The electricity will feed into the overall state grid.

“Amazon Wind Farm Texas is our largest renewable energy project to date and the newest milestone in our long-term sustainability efforts across the company,” said Kara Hurst, Amazon director of sustainability, in the announcement.

Amazon is continuing to expand in Texas. The online shopping juggernaut opened a new, “Silicon Hills” corporate hub last year in Austin and, in 2014, leased out a large chunk of office space at the Dallas Galleria complex. Amazon has Dallas-area warehouses, called fulfilment centers, in Coppell and Haslet.

There’s also a large Amazon warehouse and customer service center outside of San Antonio in Schertz. Earlier this summer, Amazon pledged to open a new 855,000-square-foot distribution warehouse in north Houston at the Pinto Business Park near Interstate 45 and Beltway 8 that’s under development. The Amazon fulfilment center is expected to employ 1,000 people. That’s in addition to Amazon’s Prime Now warehouse hub in Humble.
...
Texas leads the nation in wind power.  Other major companies have also invested in Texas wind power for their operations.  Texas has also invested heavily in electrical lines to get this power to the cities where it can be used.  While wind energy is not as dependable as fossil fuels like natural gas, it is more dependable than solar energy.  Both need to develop the ability to modulate their output and to store excess energy to be more viable.

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