Wind farm to power U.S. nuclear weapons plant in Texas

Ground was broken for a new wind farm near a nuclear weapons plant in the U.S. state of Texas Tuesday, U.S. authorities said.

The Pantex Renewable Energy Project (PREP) will be the largest federally owned wind farm when completed. It will provide more than half the Pantex plant’s annual electricity needs, according to a press release Tuesday.

The Pantex plant is the U.S. only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility. It also provides maintenance for the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile.

The wind farm will consist of five 2.3 megawatt Siemens’ turbines located on 1,500 acres of land east of the plant. It will generate approximately 47 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, which is more than 60 percent of Pantex’s annual electricity needs, or enough to power nearly 3,500 homes, the release said.

The project will reduce carbon emissions by more than 35,000 metric tons per year, the equivalent of removing 7,200 cars from the road, according to the release.

Texas leads the country in wind energy production and has the fastest growing market.