# Santa Rita East

ERCOT asset profile · https://askthegrid.com/assets/facilities/santa-rita-east

Invenergy · Irion County · ERCOT

Santa Rita East is a 302.4 MW wind facility in Irion County, Texas. EIA's May 2026 inventory reports one operating wind generator dated June 2019; Invenergy announced commercial operation on July 24, 2019. Invenergy developed and built the project, arranged three virtual power purchase agreements totaling 260 MW, and retained a 25% interest when AEP Renewables acquired 75% in 2019. AEP subsequently sold its unregulated renewables portfolio to an Invenergy-led consortium in 2023, and Invenergy Services LLC remains the EIA-registered operator.

## Profile

- **Grid role:** Utility-scale wind generation in ERCOT's West region.
- **Capacity and equipment:** 302.4 MW EIA operating capacity; Invenergy and AEP describe the same 302.4 MW project.
- **Commercial contracts:** Three VPPAs total 260 MW: Grupo Bimbo 100 MW, Merck 60 MW, and Novartis 100 MW.
- **Ownership history:** AEP acquired 75% in 2019; its competitive renewables portfolio was sold to an Invenergy-led consortium in 2023.

## Metrics

- **Operating capacity:** 302.4 MW — EIA May 2026
- **Contracted VPPAs:** 260 MW — Three corporate agreements
- **Company COD:** Jul 24, 2019 — Invenergy
- **EIA operating month:** Jun 2019 — EIA May 2026
- **Current resources:** 2 — OVEJA_G1 · OVEJA_G2
- **Registry anchor:** Plant 62038 — Invenergy Services LLC

## Facts

- **Operating capacity:** 302.4 MW — EIA May 2026 · confidence: high
- **Current operator:** Invenergy Services LLC — EIA May 2026 · confidence: high
- **Corporate VPPAs:** 260 MW — Invenergy · confidence: high
- **AEP interest acquired in 2019:** 75% / 227 MW — AEP · confidence: high

## Related parties

- **Offtaker:** Merck — Offtaker for Santa Rita East ([source](https://merck.com/))
- **Offtaker:** Grupo Bimbo — Offtaker for Santa Rita East ([source](https://grupobimbo.com/))
- **Offtaker:** Novartis — Offtaker for Santa Rita East ([source](https://novartis.com/))

## Sources

- [EIA May 2026 generator inventory](https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/) — U.S. Energy Information Administration · regulatory — Current generator records, capacity scopes, dates, status, operator, and technology.
- [Invenergy Santa Rita East case study](https://invenergy.com/projects/case-studies/santa-rita-east-wind-farm) — Invenergy · official — Project capacity, community context, and the three corporate VPPAs totaling 260 MW.
- [Invenergy commercial-operation announcement](https://invenergy.com/news/invenergy-announces-start-of-commercial-operations-of-santa-rita-east-wind-farm) — Invenergy · official — Commercial-operation date, AEP interest, and Invenergy operating role.
- [AEP Santa Rita East acquisition](https://www.aep.com/news/stories/view/1607/AEP-Renewables-Completes-Purchase-of-Santa-Rita-East-Wind-Project/) — American Electric Power · official — AEP's 75% acquisition and Invenergy's retained interest.

---

Canonical page: https://askthegrid.com/assets/facilities/santa-rita-east
Website: [AEP Renewables](https://aep.com/)
Profile published: 2026-07-17T03:34:46.934Z
Source: Ask the Grid — https://askthegrid.com/