BP Alternative Energy announced that it has moved into full construction on phase one of the Sherbino Wind Farm located approximately 30 miles east of Fort Stockton in Pecos County, west Texas. Phase one of the project will have a capacity of 150 megawatts (MW) and is being built through a 50-50 joint venture agreement with Padoma Wind Power LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. The first phase of the project is expected to come on line in the second half of 2008.

Sherbino I will utilize 50 Vestas V-90 wind turbine generators, each with a rated capacity of 3 MW. Initial construction on the 10,000 acre site began last year and at its peak will engage over 100 workers. The project will employ a full-time staff of up to 14 workers who will monitor and maintain the site after phase one has become fully operational. The overall project has a potential capacity of 750 MW, which will generate enough carbon-free electricity to power approximately 225,000 average American homes.

Bob Malone, chairman and president of BP America, said: "BP is growing its wind power portfolio in the U.S. and the Sherbino wind farm in Texas is the latest example of that growth. Wind power is one of America's most abundant natural resources and we believe that turning wind into electricity should be a major part of the nation's drive to increase the use of alternative energy and reduce carbon emissions."

"Zero-fuel, zero-emission wind power is a critical component of RepoweringNRG's efforts to build a diverse fuel generation portfolio that reduces NRG's carbon intensity," said David Crane, president and CEO of NRG Energy. "Padoma and NRG are pleased to partner with BP to combine our collective years of wind development and operations experience."

The project has financially hedged a majority of the output. The physical power generated from phase one of the Sherbino wind project will be delivered into the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) transmission system and sold on the wholesale power market.

This is the second wind project that BP has in construction in Texas. Last year, BP broke ground on the 60 MW Silver Star I Wind Farm located 80 miles southwest of the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. The project is a joint venture development between BP Alternative Energy and Clipper Windpower and is expected to be commercially operational in the second quarter of 2008.