Blowin' south of the border: Sempra subsidiary will build a new wind farm in Mexico

Sempra Infrastructure, a subsidiary of San Diego-based Fortune 500 energy giant Sempra, announced Thursday it is moving forward on the third phase of a large wind energy complex in Baja California.

Some 64 turbines will be erected at the Cimarron wind project, with capacity to generate about 320 megawatts of power under a 20-year power purchase agreement with Silicon Valley Power to supply renewable energy to the Northern California city of Santa Clara.

The $550 million project plans to begin generating electricity in late 2025.

"Cimarron wind is expected to provide strong financial returns and represents another important step toward our mission of becoming North America's leading energy infrastructure company," Justin Bird, CEO of Sempra Infrastructure, said in a statement.

The energy produced by the wind farm is expected to match the annual consumption of more than 84,000 homes and reduce about 210,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Cimarron is the third phase of a large wind project in Tecate called Energía Sierra Juarez, or ESJ. The first two phases of ESJ consist of 73 turbines with generation capacity of 263 megawatts. Once the Cimarron project is up and running, Sempra Infrastructure officials say the ESJ complex will make up one of the largest wind projects in Mexico.

The cross-border project will use Sempra Infrastructure's existing high-voltage transmission line that will interconnect the wind farm directly into the system of the California Independent System Operator, which manages the grid for about 80 percent of the Golden State.

Sempra Infrastructure, which is based in Houston, has lined up agreements with international renewable energy companies Vestas and Elecnor to supply, install and construct the Cimarron wind farm.