A San Diego renewable energy company that specializes in refurbishing wind farms has acquired a facility near Palm Springs.
A subsidiary of Salka Energy purchased 53 wind turbines that generate 39 megawatts of capacity and about 90,000 megawatt-hours of electricity — enough to power more than 11,000 homes.
Called the Cabazon Wind Farm, the facility is part of a fleet of wind projects within the San Gorgonio Pass. Cabazon produces electricity to the grid that is managed by the California Independent System Operator via an interconnection with Southern California Edison and a power purchase agreement with the city of Riverside.
The purchase price and other details of the deal were not publicly disclosed.
“The San Gorgonio Pass here is famously known as a place that has some of the best, if not the best, wind in all of California,” said Salka Energy CEO Jiddu Tapia. “Along with our experience and success that we’ve had with acquiring older projects here in California and being able to repower them, it just made sense for us.”
The wind farms in the San Gorgonio Pass are among the oldest in California and the Cabazon facility has been operating since 1999. Due to its age, the facility was at risk of being decommissioned but Salka’s acquisition will give it new life.
The company, with offices in downtown San Diego, has a history of updating legacy wind projects.
“I would say that we are very good at analyzing and understanding the risks that go into acquiring older projects like this in California and finding a way to add value,” Tapia said.
The refurbishment of the Salka Cabazon Wind Farm, with turbines rising to a height of 213 feet, will be done in phases to make sure service to the city of Riverside is not interrupted. While Tapia said it’s hard to say how long the entire process will take, “our goal is to try to get as many of these turbines refurbished as quickly as we can.”
Founded in June 2013, Salka LLC is also developing the Viracocha Hill wind power project in the famed Altamont Pass, about 35 miles east of San Francisco Bay, and a wind/solar project on more than 18,000 acres of land in Merced and Stanilaus counties called Pachacamac.
