E.ON starts new wind farm in Texas

AMARILLO, Texas, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- German energy company E.ON said it now had more than a dozen wind farms in operation in the United States with the addition of a new asset in Texas.

The company said it started operations at the Colbeck's Corner wind farm in Amarillo, Texas, its 20th wind farm in the United States. Throughout all of North America, E.ON has a net 3 gigawatts of wind power in its portfolio.

A report in May from the American Wind Energy Association found the wind energy sector is on pace to meet about 10 percent of the electricity in the United States by 2020. According to the AWEA, wind power is the fastest growing new source of energy in the United States.

While the U.S. oil boom is fading under pressure of lower crude oil prices, the country is advancing on renewable energy fronts. Texas is the No. 1 oil producer in the nation, but added the most wind capacity of any state last year

For E.ON, the company said wind energy is an "attractive product" for its customers in the United States, with supply agreements already in place for the 112-turbine Colbeck's Corner wind farm from data center company Digital Reality.

E.ON said wind farms are becoming more cost-competitive, with the budget for the Texas project coming in a 40 percent below what similar projects cost in 2009.