Buffalo Gap 3 Wind Farm
AES Wind Generation Inc · Nolan County · ERCOT
Buffalo Gap 3 Wind Farm is an EIA-listed onshore wind turbine facility with 170.2 MW in Nolan County, Texas, registered as EIA Plant ID 56638. AES Distributed Energy is the registered plant entity or operator. Commercial operation began on September 24, 2008.
Overview
Key fields
- Reported capacity
- 170.2 MW
EIA-reported operating capacity; nameplate, seasonal, AC/DC, and unit ratings may differ.
- Technology
- Onshore Wind Turbine
Primary generation technology.
- Registry anchor
- Plant 56638
AES Distributed Energy · Nolan County · ERCOT
- Operating status
- Operating
Buffalo Gap 3 Wind Farm is operating.
- Commercial operation
- September 24, 2008
Best-supported operating milestone.
Profile
- Grid role
- Utility-scale wind generation in ERCOT's energy-only market.
- Physical build
- Buffalo Gap 3 (completed 2008) — a 170 MW-class expansion comprising 74 Siemens 2.3 MW onshore wind turbines (total nameplate ~170.2 MW).
Structured profile
- Reported capacity
- 170.2 MW
Onshore Wind Turbine
- Commercial operation
- September 24, 2008
- Location
- Nolan County
ERCOT
- Operator
- AES Distributed Energy
- Asset role
- wind
ERCOT · Nolan County
- Owner
- AES Distributed Energy
Project directories state the plant is 'Operated by AES Distributed Energy' and AES' corporate project page discusses the Buffalo Gap repower. That supports listing AES Distributed Energy as the public owner/operator name (AES as parent).
Units and generators
Operating generator records and technology attributes reported through EIA-860.
| Generator | Capacity | Technology | Operation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEN1 | 170.2 MW 170.2 MW summer | Onshore Wind Turbine Wind · WT | Aug 2008 | Operating |
Performance
Monthly EIA generation history and recent market-resource behavior where linked telemetry is available.
Peer context
- Technology capacity
- 170.2 MW
- National rank
- #383
- TX rank
- #123
Monthly generation
Download CSVMonthly generation is reported through EIA-923. Capacity factor uses the current EIA nameplate capacity and is shown only for complete calendar years.
Grid and market context
Deterministic links to ERCOT market resources, price records, outage disclosures, queue records, and nearby infrastructure. Candidate joins remain labeled until corroborated.
Nearby substations
HIFLD infrastructure inventoryRelated parties and identifiers
Parties, market resources, and identifiers tied to this asset, with owner, operator, developer, EPC, compliance provider, and interconnecting entity roles kept separate.
Relationship graph
Drag organizations to explore the network. Select a node to pin its details and available page link.
Parties and identifiers
| Relationship | Entity | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Grid selection | plant:plant-56638 | Canonical asset page /ercot/assets/plant/buffalo-gap-3-wind-farm. |
Reporting portfolio
| Largest reported plants | Capacity | State |
|---|---|---|
| Pleinmont Solar 2 | 240 MW | VA |
| Buffalo Gap 2 Wind Farm | 232.5 MW | TX |
| Prevailing Wind Park | 220 MW | SD |
| Skipjack Solar Center | 175 MW | VA |
| Buffalo Gap 3 Wind FarmCurrent | 170.2 MW | TX |
| Highlander Solar Energy Station 1 | 165 MW | VA |
| Lancaster Area Battery | 127 MW | CA |
| Buffalo Gap Wind Farm | 120.6 MW | TX |
Portfolio membership follows the latest EIA-860 reporting entity. It does not imply ultimate ownership.
View full reporting portfolioTimeline and sources
Project milestones and public references behind the asset profile.
Project timeline
- Turbine purchase for Buffalo Gap 3 announcedBuffalo Gap...
AES procured 74 Siemens wind turbine generators for the Buffalo Gap 3 expansion (Siemens SWT‑2.3 class machines were specified for the phase).
- Generator enters operationEIA-860
EIA-860 lists generator GEN1 with this operating date.
- Commercial operation — Buffalo Gap 3 (phase)AES Adds 17...
AES announced the start of commercial operation of the 170 MW Buffalo Gap 3 wind farm expansion near Abilene, Texas (Buffalo Gap 3 contributed 170.2 MW to the Buffalo Gap complex).
Sources
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