Buffalo Gap 3 Wind Farm
Nolan County, Texas · EIA plant ID 56638 · Operator: AES Distributed Energy
Nameplate170MWSummer 170 MW
Generators1in service
Net generation338GWh12 mo to Dec 2025
Capacity factor23%wind units, summer MW
Heat rate—thermal plants only
First online2008
Monthly net generation
EIA-923, all units at the plant. Net of station use; storage can go negative.
FinalPreliminary
Capacity factor by year
Net MWh ÷ (summer MW × hours), wind units. Each year uses that year's EIA-860 ratings; the hollow dot is the latest 12 months.
Heat rate by year
Electric fuel MMBtu × 1000 ÷ net MWh (Btu/kWh, HHV), fossil units only; CT + CA counted as one combined-cycle block.
Heat rate applies to fuel-burning (thermal) units only.
Annual data table
| Year | Net GWh | Capacity factor | Heat rate (Btu/kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 119.2 | 19.1% | — |
| 2009 | 282.3 | 18.9% | — |
| 2010 | 457.4 | 30.7% | — |
| 2011 | 532.5 | 35.7% | — |
| 2012 | 516.8 | 34.6% | — |
| 2013 | 489.7 | 32.9% | — |
| 2014 | 512.2 | 34.4% | — |
| 2015 | 422.1 | 28.3% | — |
| 2016 | 464.7 | 31.1% | — |
| 2017 | 474 | 31.8% | — |
| 2018 | 485.4 | 32.6% | — |
| 2019 | 470 | 31.5% | — |
| 2020 | 403.5 | 27.0% | — |
| 2021 | 323.2 | 21.7% | — |
| 2022 | 284.6 | 19.1% | — |
| 2023 | 292.1 | 19.6% | — |
| 2024 | 302.2 | 20.2% | — |
| 2025 | 337.7 | 22.7% | — |
Generators
EIA-860 (annual) with EIA-860M updates through Sep 2026. EIA-923 reports generation by plant, prime mover and fuel, not by unit, so unit-level output isn't shown.
| Gen ID | Technology | Prime mover | Nameplate MW | Summer MW | Online | Status | Planned retirement | OEM / model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEN1 | Onshore Wind Turbine | WT | 170.2 | 170.2 | Aug 2008 | Operating | — | siemens SWT-1.3-62 |
Owner / operator
Operator: AES Distributed Energy. Ownership shares by in-service nameplate MW (EIA-860 Schedule 4; units not listed there are wholly owned by the operator).
| AES Distributed Energy | 100.0% | 170 MW |
Nearby plants
Within 80 km.
| Buffalo Gap Wind Farm | 121 MW | 4.5 km |
| Callahan Divide Wind Energy Center | 114 MW | 7.6 km |
| Buffalo Gap 2 Wind Farm | 233 MW | 8 km |
| Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center | 736 MW | 9.1 km |
| South Trent Wind Farm | 101 MW | 13.6 km |
| Turkey Track Wind Energy LLC | 170 MW | 18.7 km |