Indian Mesa, a 125‑turbine wind farm that came online in May 2001, sits on 34,000 acres of West Texas mesaland in Pecos County. Owned by Florida‑based FPL Energy, the 82.5‑MW complex draws power from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Texas Utilities. GAO data show the wind farm averages 250 million kWh per year, enough to power roughly 20,000 homes.
Pecos County granted the project a five‑year property‑tax abatement to spur development. In return, the owner pledged to donate ten percent of the abated taxes to a regional technical training centre. The community‑initiated agreement saw the farm remit about $930,000 in local school taxes in 2003.
Employment figures reveal the farm as a modest but steady employer. FPL Energy staffs 43 personnel for the Indian Mesa site and plans to add four more after the turbine warranty expires. During construction, the project added 30–35 full‑time jobs and lifted county gross sales by roughly ten percent.
Land use remains a key feature of the project. Of the 34,000 acres, 7,000 are leased for turbines, while the remainder continues to support grazing—primarily sheep—and hunting. The University of Texas, one of four landowners, negotiated a lease that preserves agricultural activity alongside renewable energy.
Texas’s wind portfolio was the second‑largest in the nation in 2003, accounting for 1,293 MW of the 6,374 MW installed nationwide. Indian Mesa’s output of 250 million kWh represents about 20 percent of the state’s wind generation that year.
The tax‑donation clause will feed the regional technical training centre’s apprentice programs, giving students hands‑on experience in renewable‑energy maintenance. The county will revisit the farm’s tax contributions as part of its 2025 budget cycle.