Our Projects Abound.
Mesquite Star: Phase 1
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The Mesquite Star Phase I project area is located in the windy Rolling Plains of Fisher County, Texas
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Hill Country Wind Power (HCWP) began development and assessment of this project in 2010
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This included leasing over 23,000 acres
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Erected meteorological towers to assess the amount of available energy
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Environmental studies to assess the impact on wildlife, endangered species, and wetlands
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Obstruction Evaluation with the FAA to reach a Determination of No Hazard to aviation
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Worked with Dept. of Defense and Dyess Air Force Base to make a determination of no impact on their operation
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Commissioned a study to determine that no interference to microwave communication links would occur
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In 2018, HCWP sold the project to NRG Renewables. NRG Renewables was sold in 2019 to Global Infrastructure Partners, who changed their name to Clearway Energy that same year
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Once the sale was complete, HCWP partnered with Clearway Energy to complete the development process and see the project through the start of construction
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This included but was not limited to obtaining a tax abatement from each taxing authority within the project and additional leasing
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Clearway Energy started construction in 2019 on Mesquite Star. There are 118 Siemens Gamesa wind turbines with a total capacity of 419.8-megawatts of power that will serve several institutional customers including Lowe’s, Ecolab, Intuit, and Brown University
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This 419.8-megawatt wind farm was completed and became operational in April 2020
Mesquite Star: Phase 2
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The Mesquite Star Phase II project area is located in the windy Rolling Plains of Fisher County, Texas, and is immediately to the east of Mesquite Star Phase I
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As of August 2020, Hill Country has leased almost 41,000 acres and expects Phase II to reach 45,000 acres when leasing is complete.
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Hill Country Wind Power (HCWP) began development and assessment of this project in December 2019
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This area shows equally promising wind speeds, and favorable topography as Mesquite Star Phase I
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The project will share the same point of interconnection as Mesquite Star Phase I with the ability to serve potential end-users in the ERCOT market.
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Completed a Critical Issues Analysis
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Meteorological towers have been gathering data to assess the amount of available energy since March 2020. All meteorological data has been collected by UL AWS Truepower from inception.
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Environmental studies are ongoing to assess the impact on wildlife, endangered species, and wetlands
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The project is subject to receiving a favorable tax abatement under Texas statute section 312 and 313
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Initial FAA studies have been done, with final FAA turbine siting to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2020
Rock Creek Project
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The Rock Creek project is located on The Caprock Escarpment of Texas in Briscoe, Swisher, and Floyd Counties of the Texas Panhandle
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In 2018, Hill Country completed safe harbor construction for 60% of PTC value, with the construction of 10 turbine foundations and string road by Wanzek Construction. AWS Truepower validated the construction
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It is adjacent to the Tule Canyon substation, originally developed by Sharyland Utilities as part of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ CREZ transmission initiative, which was completed in 2013 to transport power from specific high wind areas identified in the Texas Panhandle
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Hill Country Wind Power (HCWP) began development and assessment of this project in 2012
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This includes leasing over 36,000 acres and still growing
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Meteorological towers have been gathering data to assess the amount of available energy since June 2012. The meteorological instrumentation has been maintained and replaced as recommended by AWS.
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Environmental Studies including Critical Issues Analysis, Avian Point Count, Eagle Studies, Raptor Studies, and Bat studies have been completed and are being updated regularly
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Completed an Obstruction evaluation that showed we would receive a Determination of No Hazard from the FAA
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In 2016, Hill Country completed safe harbor construction for 100% of PTC value, with the construction of 30 turbine foundations and string road by Wanzek Construction. AWS Truepower validated the construction
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In 2017, Capital Airspace completed an obstruction and airspace analysis, which concluded that wind turbine tip heights up to 499 feet should not be a problem​
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The project is subject to receiving a favorable tax abatement under Texas statute section 312 and 313