Tucson Electric Power is nearing completion of its biggest renewable energy resource yet — the 250-megawatt Oso Grande Wind project near Roswell, New Mexico.
Crews recently installed the final blade on the last of 62 wind turbines on 24,000 acres at Oso Grande and are in the process of powering up and testing the system.
Oso Grande is expected to begin providing clean energy for the Tucson area by the end of November and generate enough energy each year to serve about 90,000 homes, TEP says.
From base to blade tip, the largest turbines will reach over 600 feet high — more than twice the height of the Statue of Liberty and a little taller than the Washington Monument.
Oso Grande is being built by EDF Renewables North America at a cost of $370 million and will be owned by TEP under a build-and-transfer agreement.
Generation from the wind project will help TEP avoid nearly 688,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually, equal to greenhouse gas emissions from nearly 146,000 passenger vehicles, EDF says.
TEP, which has a long-term plan of providing more than 70% of its power from wind and solar resources, already gets wind energy through power-purchase agreements from the 50MW Macho Springs Wind farm near Deming, New Mexico, and the 30 MW Red Horse Wind project near Willcox.