BP opens Sherbino 2

PECOS COUNTY In a tent set up 30 miles east of Fort Stockton, 60 people — including some major representatives of British Petroleum Wind Energy — gathered inside a tent to talk about the company’s latest achievement in Pecos County: 60 new wind turbines.

BP conducted a dedication ceremony Wednesday afternoon right in the middle of Sherbino 2 Wind Farm, and President and CEO of BP Wind Energy John Graham spoke of how important renewable energy was to the future, not just environmentally, but also economically.

He also said there was a certain turbine in the farm that marked .

“Our 1,000th turbine … is right here on the Harral-Collins ranch,” Graham said.

With the completion of the wind farm, Chief Development Officer for BP Wind Energy Larry Folks said each 262-foot turbine has of the capacity of producing 2.5 megawatts of power at any given time and in total, the entire farm could generate enough electricity to power about 45,000 homes.

 Picking Pecos County for the wind farm, Folks said, was an easy choice.

“Well, this location is great because of the wind,” Folks said. “We put our wind farms where the wind is at.”

Ideally, the company looks at locations that have average annual wind speeds of about eight meters a second, or 15 mph, Folks said. The higher the wind speeds, the better chance the turbines have of producing at their capacity.

From start to finish, Graham said the wind farm took about six years. BP first negotiated land contracts with three different farmers and their families back in 2006: The Vicks, the McKenzie family and the Harral-Collins-Hastings family.

The total amount of land occupied by BP is 1 percent, Folks said.

The next step involved speaking with Pecos County officials and with members of the City of Fort Stockton before finally constructing the turbines between July and December 2011.

During the construction period, Folks said the company employed between 200 and 250 people. Now the wind farm is complete, Folks said only about 10 people will be working at the station to keep it operational.

Economic Development Director for Fort Stockton Doug May said county commissioners, the city council and the hospital board were quickly able to come together and get everything approved for BP.

To help show BP was heavily invested in its relationship with Pecos County, May said the company has invested time and money in different school programs and have been working with local non-profits.

“Everything’s been great,” May said.

Folks said the benefits of having a wind farm in oil rich West Texas were numerous. From helping ease pressure off the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ power system by delivering wind energy to helping the U.S. ease off foreign oil, Sherbino 2 would benefit everyone.

One West Texan, who also happens to work for BP, said the company installing the wind farm in Pecos County would ultimately strengthen the county.

Southern Region Area Manager Neil James told audience members of how residents know who windy the area can be. From trying to play ball games as a child to working with the electric company, the wind would always find a way to interfere in his life.

Now that BP has a way to harvest the West Texas wind, James said he feels differently about it.

“When the wind blows, now I just smile,” he said.

@OAgovernment