

Press Release:
GREEN MOUNTAIN ENERGY COMPANY
AND TXU ENERGY ANNOUNCE THE GREEN MOUNTAIN ENERGY® WIND
FARM AT BRAZOS
The Largest Wind Farm Built since Texans Were Given the Right
to Choose; TXU Energy Extends Leadership as Largest Wind Purchaser
in Southwest
AUSTIN, TX – July 23, 2003
– Today, a coalition of wind industry leaders announced
a project that will increase renewable wind energy in Texas
by 160 megawatts by December 31, 2003. The Green Mountain
Energy Wind Farm at Brazos will be the first and largest
wind farm built since Texans were given the right to choose
their Retail Electric Provider. With this agreement, TXU
Energy will strengthen its environmental position as the
leader in the Southwest for purchasing wind energy. The
transaction links several major Texas wind energy players
that stretches from wind power development and financing
to multi-year energy contracts and retail energy. The transaction
links several major Texas wind energy players that stretches
from wind power development and financing to long-term energy
contracts and retail energy.
The Green Mountain Energy Wind
Farm at Brazos is being developed by Cielo Wind Power, LLC
of Austin, TX and Orion Energy LLC of Oakland, CA. TXU Energy
of Dallas, a subsidiary of TXU Corp (NYSE:TXU) and Green
Mountain Energy Company of Austin have entered into an agreement
to purchase 100% of the wind output from the project. Shell
WindEnergy, a subsidiary of Shell Renewables, and Padoma
Resources I, Inc., a subsidiary of Padoma Wind Power LLC
acquired the project in July, 2003, prior to construction
and jointly own the wind farm. Shell WindEnergy will be
the operator.
The wind farm will consist of
160 one-MW Mitsubishi wind generators. Each turbine is approximately
230 feet tall, weighs 370,000 pounds and produces zero emissions.
The project will generate energy to power 30,000 average
Texas homes per year.
“This is a great example
of the power of choice,” said Paul Thomas, CEO of
Green Mountain Energy Company. “The success of the
Texas market, coupled with the demand created by our loyal
customers, has resulted in the development of the first
Green Mountain Energy Wind Farm in Texas.”
The Green Mountain Energy Wind
Farm at Brazos will prevent an estimated 360,000 tons of
carbon dioxide (CO2) each year. To put this into perspective,
it would be like taking all the cars and SUVs in Houston
off the road for about a week to avoid the same amount of
CO2.
“As the largest purchaser
of wind power in Texas, TXU Energy is pleased to help make
this transaction a reality,” said VJ Horgan, president
of portfolio management for TXU Energy. “Through projects
and partnerships like this, wind energy will continue to
grow as part of the Texas energy mix.”
“This project represents
Texas’ strong commitment to renewable energy,”
said Walter Hornaday, president of Cielo Wind Power. “Cielo
Wind Power plans to seek a commitment from the Texas Public
Utility Commission to expand the capacity of West Texas
transmission circuits so that more clean wind farms can
deliver energy to Texas urban areas like Dallas-Ft. Worth,
Houston, Austin and San Antonio.”
Reid Buckley, vice president of
Orion Energy LLC, stated, “At a time of increased
uncertainty in natural gas supply, we are very pleased to
be involved in another wind project that will soon be delivering
more low-cost, environmentally-friendly electricity to the
State of Texas.”
Wind power complements TXU’s
Environmental Principle of supporting renewable energy:
“TXU will encourage research on and development of
more efficient, environmentally-benign sources of energy
and, wherever warranted by market opportunities, offer our
customers the benefits of energy produced from renewable
resources.”
Founded in 1997 to “change
the way power is made”, Green Mountain Energy Company
(www.greenmountain.com) sells cleaner electricity generated
from sources such as wind, solar, water, geothermal, biomass
and natural gas to residential, business, institutional
and governmental customers. About 600,000 customers in California,
New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas
have chosen Green Mountain Energy® electricity, which
is dramatically less-polluting than typical system power
in those states. The company is based in Austin, Texas.
TXU is a major energy company
with operations in North America and Australia. TXU manages
a diverse energy portfolio with a strategic mix of over
$30 billion of assets. TXU’s distinctive business
model for competitive markets integrates generation, portfolio
management, and retail into one single business. The regulated
electric and natural gas distribution and transmission businesses
complement the competitive operations, using asset management
skills developed over more than a hundred years, to provide
reliable energy delivery to consumers and earnings and cash
flow for stakeholders. In its primary market of Texas, TXU’s
portfolio includes 19,000 megawatts of generation and additional
contracted capacity with a fuel mix of coal/lignite, natural
gas/oil, nuclear power and wind. TXU serves five million
customers in North America and Australia, including 2.7
million competitive electric customers in Texas where it
is the leading energy retailer. Visit www.txucorp.com for
more information about TXU.
Cielo Wind Power, LLC develops,
maintains and assists with the construction of utility-grade
wind power projects. With field offices in McCamey, White
Deer and Fluvanna, Texas, Austin-based Cielo Wind Power
is the largest wind developer in the Southwest and is dedicated
solely to cost-effective and environmentally responsible
wind project development. Cielo Wind Power is a privately
held company. For more information about Cielo, please visit
www.cielowind.com.
Orion Energy LLC, headquartered
in Oakland, California, is a leading wind energy company
with world-class expertise in the development, finance,
construction, and operation of wind energy projects throughout
the United States and Europe. For further information about
Orion Energy LLC please contact Reid Buckley (RBuckley@orion-energy.com;
510-267-9323) or visit www.orion-energy.com.
