January 24, 2007, The Wind Coalition
AUSTIN – More than $1 billion worth of wind powered electric generators
were installed in Texas during 2006, growing the state's total
installations by 38%. According to the American Wind Energy
Association's 2006 market summary released yesterday, Texas installed
considerably more new wind power than any other state, 774 Megawatts
(MW), enough to overtake California as the #1 state for total wind
power installations. This level of construction also achieved another
milestone: of the power plants installed on the Texas power grid during
2006, there was more investment in wind power than in all other types
of power plants – coal, natural gas, hydro, and nuclear — combined.
"Wind power is ready to play a major role in providing the new
energy supplies needed for Texas' future." said Mike Sloan, Managing
Consultant for The Wind Coalition, a regional wind industry group. "The
unmatched combination of exceptional wind sites, dependence on
expensive fuels, and innovative policies by results-oriented state
leaders, make Texas the go-to market in the country for wind
developers."
Texas' 2,768 MW of wind power plants will provide more than two
percent (2%) of the state's annual electricity needs, enough to serve
more than 500,000 Texas homes. Additional wind development in 2007
should shatter existing records. There are already more than 1,000
Megawatts of new wind projects in Texas in advanced stages of
construction that are expected to begin delivering power to customers
within the next 6 months.
Texas is home to some of the best renewable energy development
areas in the nation, including the wind-swept mesas and plains of West
Texas, the Panhandle and along the Coastal Bend. A recent detailed
assessment by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)
identified more than 130,000 MW of high quality wind sites in Texas —
an amount capable of producing more electricity than the entire state
uses today.
The challenge in tapping this virtually unlimited reserve of
affordable, clean energy is infrastructure. Without new power lines,
wind power development in Texas will soon stall. But thanks to
legislation championed by Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) and Rep.
Phil King (R-Weatherford) in 2005, Texas is pioneering proactive
development of electric transmission lines to wind-rich resource areas
designated as Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ).
The Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) finalized its rules to
implement the CREZ policy last month and held an initial hearing
yesterday to begin designating specific zones and identifying needed
transmission lines. More than 50 entities were approved to participate
in the CREZ case, including transmission providers, electric companies,
local economic development organizations, and at least 21 companies
that have expressed interest in developing wind projects in Texas. This
level of participation from wind developers, reinforces the high level
of interest in Texas announced by Governor Perry last October, when
eight wind companies committed to invest at least $10 billion in Texas
wind projects if transmission infrastructure was made available.
Growing concerns in Texas over high energy costs and future
environmental quality are helping fuel keen interest in renewable
energy options, especially wind power. The Wind Coalition's Sloan
observes, "New wind power developments that offer competitively priced
energy today — with no fuel cost, no emissions and no water usage —
have a lot of appeal to electric consumers and power companies alike.”
A key question impacting how much wind power will be selected for
development by the PUC is what will transmission lines cost and what
benefit will they provide. While wind is not a silver bullet, it plays
a valuable role in lowering electric production costs, reducing
emissions, and stimulating economic development. Extensive transmission
studies conducted by ERCOT suggest that every $1 billion invested in
transmission lines to windy areas in Texas could:
- Enable development of $6 billion of new wind farms,
- Shave more than $10 billion from long-term conventional fuel costs, and
- Reduce emissions of pollution and greenhouse gases by more than 100 millions tons.
This level of wind development would generate thousands of jobs and
more than $500 million in state and local tax revenues, based on
estimates in a 2005 study by The Perryman Group.
The PUC's initial decision to select windy CREZ zones is expected by July 5, 2007.
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The Wind Coalition is a non-profit association formed to promote an
economic and regulatory climate that encourages the development of the
vast wind energy resources of the South Central United States. Its
membership includes major wind developers, equipment vendors and public
interest groups.
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