Mountain Breeze sells its output to Xcel Energy – Colorado under a long-term power purchase agreement. Leeward also supplies renewable energy to Xcel Energy – Colorado from its nearby Cedar Creek Wind project in Weld County, and to Xcel Energy – Southwest from its Caprock Wind project in Quay County, New Mexico.

Mountain Breeze is comprised of 62 GE Renewable Energy onshore wind turbines, with a total capacity of 171 MW. Leeward designed and constructed the greenfield project from the ground up and will own and operate the wind farm for the long-term.

Mountain Breeze received unanimous approval of the project from the Weld County Board of County Commissioners in June 2019.

“Our team has been developing the Mountain Breeze project since 2016,” said Jason Allen, CEO of Leeward Renewable Energy. “We are pleased to have reached commercial operation to provide clean, renewable energy to Leeward’s long-time customer, Xcel Energy and are grateful to GE and Citi for their continued partnership and investment in clean energy.”

John Wycherley, Leeward Renewable Energy Vice President of Development, added: “We are also very appreciative of local landowners with whom we have great, long-standing relationships, as well as Weld County officials and other members of the community. The completion of this project would not have been possible without their support and we look forward to maintaining this collaborative relationship for years to come.”

The project created approximately 300 jobs during peak construction and increased its contribution to Weld County in the form of property tax payments.

“We are excited to see the Mountain Breeze Wind Farm online and generating carbon-free energy for our Colorado customers. As a utility who is leading the clean energy transition, partnerships with companies such as Leeward are important,” said Alice Jackson, president of Xcel Energy – Colorado. “This project is one step in helping us reach the goal of providing our customers with 80% carbon-free energy by 2030 and our vision of providing 100% carbon-free energy by 2050.”

News item from Leeward Renewable Energy

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“We are grateful for the support of the project landowners and communities. This is one of the first repowering projects in Minnesota, so there was not a lot of precedent to rely on. The regulatory community was constructive and supportive,” said Paul Gaynor, CEO of Longroad. “Xcel Energy’s support was also critical in getting the projects across the finish line. We are pleased to have come to an agreement to sell these assets to Xcel Energy once the repowering is completed.”

The project repowering and construction is being performed by Vestas under a turnkey contract. Vestas is also the equipment supplier to the projects.

A construction loan in the amount of $128 million was closed in order to support the project — KeyBank and HSBC are the coordinating lead arrangers and joint book runners.

The project will be operational by the end of 2020, at which point Xcel Energy will purchase the facilities. Longroad Energy has owned the projects since 2017.

News item from Longroad Energy Holdings

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The construction stage of the Sagamore wind farm is expected to provide jobs to about 400 people, and between 20 and 30 jobs will be created for the plant’s O&M.

Once fully operational, the $900 million facility will be the largest of its kind in New Mexico, and able to generate enough electricity to supply 194,000 typical households each year.

“Sagamore will pay for itself in the fuel cost-savings it will generate by using one of the region’s most abundant resources – the wind – to drive its generators,” said David Hudson, president of Xcel Energy for New Mexico and Texas. “It will be among the cheapest generating resources on our system and will help us conserve precious groundwater and protect the environment while bringing an immense economic benefit to eastern New Mexico.”

The new wind farm will be located in New Mexico’s Roosevelt County and use 240 Vestas’ wind turbines. Wanzek Construction will be in charge of construction.

The development phase of the project has already been finalized, according to Xcel, including grid connection studies. The construction stage is expected to provide employment to about 400 people.

The Sagamore project was initially developed by Chicago-based Invenergy LLC. Xcel became its owner in 2017 as part of a plan to expand its wind portfolio within its New Mexico-Texas system by 1,230 MW.

Xcel has committed to an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and aims to provide 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050. With the addition of Hale and Sagamore, Xcel expects nearly half of its New Mexico and Texas electricity supply to be derived from renewable electricity, primarily wind energy, by 2023.

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