Clearway Energy Group Completes Construction on Texas Wind Project

419 MW Mesquite Star contracted with institutions and corporate customers, including Ecolab, Lowe’s, Intuit, and Brown University

SAN FRANCISCO – Clearway Energy Group (“Clearway”) announced that it completed construction and brought online Mesquite Star, a 419 megawatt (MW) wind farm in Fisher County, Texas. Mesquite Star is contracted under an aggregation of long-term power agreements with several corporate and institutional customers, including Ecolab, Lowe’s, Intuit, and Brown University. The project was constructed by Blattner Energy, Inc., with wind turbines supplied by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and a tax equity investment by BHE Renewables.

“We’re proud of the team that came together to bring this project to life,” said Craig Cornelius, CEO of Clearway Energy Group. “Successfully launching a project like this, at a time like this, demonstrates the durability of this industry even under the most difficult circumstances. Mesquite Star will provide clean, affordable wind power in the Lone Star State for decades to come while supporting our customers in meeting their sustainability and clean energy goals. We thank our customers, landowners, construction partner, and the many others involved in the success of this project.”

“Projects like the Mesquite Star wind farm are a crucial part of creating a resilient future for all of us,” said Emilio Tenuta, senior vice president and chief sustainability officer at Ecolab. “Our virtual power purchase agreement with Clearway will cover 100% of our electricity use in the U.S. and also represents an important step in Ecolab’s journey to halve its carbon emissions by 2030.”

“Lowe’s is committed to reducing our carbon emissions footprint, and our agreement with Clearway Energy will help us to achieve our 2030 goal of reducing emissions by 40%,” said Chris Cassell, Lowe’s director of corporate sustainability. “We are continuously making investments to improve our environmental performance, from energy efficiency in our stores to supporting renewable energy development. The 100 MW agreement will generate enough clean energy to power the equivalent of all 143 Lowe’s stores in Texas.”

“This partnership is a key part of Brown University’s goal of getting to net zero carbon emissions by 2040,” said Stephen Porder, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and Brown’s assistant provost for sustainability. “Power we purchase from Mesquite Star will offset about 30 percent of our campus electricity and will cut our net campus emissions by 15 percent. We’re very pleased that our part of this project will contribute to a cleaner energy future.”

“This aggregated power agreement is a true testament to the type of longstanding collaboration and partnerships needed to make a dent in the uphill battle against climate change,” said Sean Kinghorn, Global Sustainability Program Manager at Intuit, maker of TurboTax, QuickBooks and Mint. “The innovative structure of Mesquite Star allowed Intuit to hit our 100% renewable electricity goal 10 years early, enabling our team to launch a new climate positive goal to speed up the transition to a low carbon future. Mesquite Star is a powerful example of how energy groups, corporations and communities can work together to reduce our carbon footprint.”

Mesquite Star, located in one of the windiest corridors of West Texas, created more than 300 jobs during construction, more than a dozen ongoing jobs, and generated millions of dollars in local investments. According to the American Wind Energy Association, wind energy is a $46.5 billion industry in the Lone Star State, attracting $237 million in annual statewide and local taxes and supporting more than 25,000 jobs.