BP, NRG start up Texas wind farm

London's BP (NYSE: BP) said today its Sherbino Wind Farm in Texas has started full commercial operation of the 150 megawatt first phase of the project.

The wind farm, located in Pecos County, is jointly owned by BP Wind Energy and Padoma Wind Power, a subsidiary of Princeton, N.J.-based NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG).

"The successful commercial operation of phase I of the Sherbino wind farm with our partner NRG Energy is another example of BP's commitment to grow its wind portfolio in the U.S.," said Robert Lukefahr, president of BP Wind Energy North America, in a statement.

"Wind energy is one of America's most plentiful and important natural resources. The Sherbino wind farm will produce clean, renewable electricity for the next twenty years."

The Sherbino project, which has a potential capacity of 750 MW, moved into full construction in February. Phase I, operated by BP, is using 50 Vestas V-90 wind turbines, each with a rated capacity of 3 MW.

BP said the wind power will be delivered into the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas transmission system and sold on the wholesale power market.

The oil giant has a number of renewable energy investments. In August, BP teamed up with Cambridge, Mass.-based Verenium (Nasdaq: VRNM) in a biofuel partnership (see BP, Verenium to tackle next-gen biofuels).

Under that deal, BP said it would invest $90 million in a 50-50 owned company that will develop technology for cellulosic ethanol production. The two companies also plan to set up a partnership to deploy the technology in commercial-scale facilities.