Burns & McDonnell is providing engineering and technical services for initial development, conceptual design and preliminary engineering support for a proposed 4,000-megawatt (MW) wind-energy facility combined with conventional generating facilities to be located on up to 200,000 acres (80,937 hectares) in five Texas Panhandle counties.

Mesa Power, the developer and operator of the project, plans to develop 4,000 MW of wind power accompanied by new high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) and  high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission systems to allow efficient delivery of energy to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The evaluation included conceptual engineering of the power collection system, HVAC and HVDC transmission systems.

• 4,000-MW wind farm
• Extensive power collection system
• New HVAC and HVDC transmission systems

Mesa Power plans to construct the project in phases beginning in 2009, with power deliveries beginning in 2011. When complete, the Mesa Power wind energy facility would be the world's largest wind energy facility, contributing up to 4,000 MW of power to the Texas power grid.

Among the work engaged in the initial phase of the project, Burns & McDonnell will provide a technical and operational analysis of delivering the power to the power system managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

Burns & McDonnell is also providing preliminary design for the bulk transmission and substation/collective system and bid package for Mesa Power. Burns & McDonnell is also engaged as the owner’s engineer though the project duration to assist Mesa Power in technical and commercial evaluations.