Wind Farms Whistle Across North America

Valero Energy Corporation, one of the largest oil and gas refiners in North America, has begun
its Phase I operation of a 50-megawatt (MW) windfarm located in McKee, TX. Just north of Amarillo, the McKee Windfarm will be constructed in two phases.

Initiated in December 2008, energy production from six General Electric (GE) 1.5-MW wind turbines of Phase I has been commissioned for startup. Phase II will consist of 27 GE 1.5-MW wind turbines expected to be erected and ready before the end of June 2009.

Though Texas has the largest installed capacity of wind power in the United States, Iowa also is a recognized leader in the development of wind-generated electricity. By successfully attracting such top turbine manufacturers as Siemens, Clipper and TPI Composites, Iowa has established itself as the major wind-turbine manufacturing hub in North America.

Acciona, a Spanish turbine manufacturer with operations in Iowa, awaits environmental approval for a 103.5-MW windfarm to be built in the Coquimbo region of Chile. And while Acciona lies in wait, construction has already been completed on two other windfarms in North America.

Central Plains Power LLC is in the commissioning stages of the Central Plains windfarm project, which broke ground in June 2008. Located in Marienthal, Kansas, the project consists of a 99-megawatt farm developed by RES and owned and operated by Westar.

Also, Cartier Wind Energy LLC has begun full commercial operation of the $110 million, 110-MW Carleton Windfarm in Québec, Canada. Comprised of 73 wind turbines, the farm should generate 340,000 MW per hour of energy per year.

AllianceTexas' Success Nears $34 Billion

This week's economic impact report on AllianceTexas shows a staggering overall impact total: $33.8 billion on North Texas communities. One of the most successful public-private partnerships in the United States, AllianceTexas has been in a vital economic engine for 20 years.

Approximately $100 million of combined initial investment from the city of Fort Worth, the state of Texas and the Federal Aviation Administration in AllianceTexas has yielded $6.5 billion in private investment, 29,000 jobs and more than $625.4 million in property taxes.

The $625.4 million in property taxes from AllianceTexas since 1990 has been paid to the three cities (Fort Worth, Haslet, Roanoke), two counties (Denton, Tarrant) and two school districts (Northwest, Keller) that it falls within. That number has grown significantly from the $223,000 in property taxes generated from the same area in 1990. AllianceTexas also falls within the town of Westlake, but that community does not have a municipal property tax.

From 1990-2007, AllianceTexas companies and Hillwood-related entities along Interstate 35W have paid more than $625.4 million in property taxes, including $88 million in 2007.

The companies of AllianceTexas now employ more than 29,000 workers, including 1,900 new jobs added in the past year. New companies and expansion by existing companies have accounted for the employment increase.

Daimler Financial Services Americas moved more than 500 employees into its new 160,000-square-foot office building in September. In June, Deloitte purchased 107 acres at Circle T Ranch to build a learning and leadership development center that will employ approximately 450 workers. DynCorp International expanded into 75,344 square feet in the Heritage Commons II building and now has approximately 800 employees at AllianceTexas.

On the industrial side, Cinram, which is the logistics provider for Motorola cell phones, has begun to move into its 788,000-square-foot distribution center at AllianceTexas. ENTECH, which is a leading provider of advanced solar energy technology, moved into 71,250 square feet in the Gateway 23 building, which is part of the 5-building, 1.8-million-square-foot speculative building program that Hillwood completed at Alliance in 2008.

Also in 2008, the next phase of Alliance Town Center opened. New retailers in the project include Belk Department Stores, PetSmart, Ulta Beauty, Sport Clips, RackRoom Shoes, Dress Barn, Justice Just for Girls, Rue21, EyeMasters, Mattress Firm, Which Wich, Jason’s Deli and Smoothie King. The 168,000-square-foot Sam Moon outlet is under construction and set to open in spring 2009.

Hillwood also opened its first multifamily project in AllianceTexas in 2008. The first phase of 288 units was completed in Monterra Village, which is the first 100% smoke-free apartment home community in North Texas.

In addition to the Sam Moon complex, projects currently under construction in AllianceTexas include the 50,000-square-foot expansion office building for Galderma, the 220,000-square-foot data center for Health Care Services Corp, and the 600,000-square-foot expansion office building for Fidelity Investments at its Circle T Ranch campus.

AllianceTexas consists of the Alliance Global Logistics Hub, Circle T Ranch, Heritage, Alliance Town Center, Saratoga and Monterra Village. The study also took into account the economic impact of the residential community of Park Glen, which Hillwood developed in the 1990s. AllianceTexas now houses 200 companies, including 65 from either the Fortune 500, Global 500 or Forbes list of Top Private Firms. These companies have built 29.2 million square feet and created 29,000 jobs.