The Wind Coalition Developing the Nations Wind Corridor

Print

Aug 6, 2011

Wind energy bringing more power to the state’s grid

The future of the state’s electric grid is blowing in the wind, and during the next 10 years, the expansion of wind energy is expected to go full steam ahead.

The wind industry has spurred the revitalization of many small communities, bringing in much-needed jobs and tax revenue when some small towns were all but drying up and blowing away.

“Out of nowhere 10 years ago, we had thousands of workers and a $20 million industry,” said Greg Wortham, executive director of the Wind Energy Clearinghouse, based in Sweetwater. “It is like what the railroads did in the 19th century.”

The wind industry has brought with it new jobs during construction phases and thereafter, provided a healthy tax base for county and school districts and has revitalized the attitude of communities, Wortham said.

Now, wind turbines tower over the landscape from Albany to Odessa and Fort Stockton and from Winters to San Angelo. And as the Public Utility Commission builds out the transmission lines, more towers are planned.

Transmission lines going up
In 2008, the Public Utility Commission of Texas started a $5 billion project to build out the state’s transmission lines so that the power generated by the wind turbines could travel from West Texas and the Panhandle to larger metropolitan areas across the state.

The build-out began this year and is slated for completion in 2013. Once it is completed, more than 18,400 megawatts of wind power a day will be transmitted into the state’s electrical grid, operated by the Energy Reliability Council of Texas. The Texas Tribune reported 1,800 megawatts of wind energy went into the state’s grid Tuesday to help with record-setting demands of almost 68,000 megawatts, but the grid usually depends on just 800 megawatts of wind energy each day.

“The new power lines will send power to West San Antonio, Fort Hood, West Austin and to the people in south and east Texas who need power,” Wortham explained.

Construction continues on the CREZ (competitive renewable energy zone) transmission projects located in portions of Ector, Midland, Pecos, Upton, Crockett, Howard, Martin, Glasscock, and Sterling counties in West Texas, according to a PUC map.

Once the transmission lines are up, the capability to transmit electric power from wind energy across the state will double, making wind a more viable power source for industry.

Wortham said industries that would have been attracted to metro areas due to power needs, will now be able to locate in places like West Texas.

“If Texas wants an industry, it is more likely to come to Odessa, Fort Stockton or Sweetwater – any place these power lines go,” Wortham said.

Towers going up in Pecos County
Construction started about a month ago on 60 new turbines in Pecos County.

There are 300 workers on site at the Sherbino 2 wind farm, located on 20,000 acres about 40 miles west of Fort Stockton.

The Sherbino 2 wind-energy construction project is phase two of a three-phase plan by global oil and gas company BP to have a total of 700 megawatt capacity once all three phases are completed. All 60 foundations are completed and the parts for all 60 turbines have been delivered to the site, BP officials said. So far, eight towers have been erected, officials reported.

“The construction project always brings in a lot of dollars,” said Doug May, executive director of the Fort Stockton Economic Development Corporation. “We are trying to become a hub for renewable energy. With the transmission lines headed our way we will see an increase in renewable. It is a stabilizer to the volatility of the fossil fuel market.”

The 150 megawatt wind farm will generate enough electricity to power 45,000 average American homes, according to a news release from the company, based in Great Britain. The wind farm will utilize 60 Clipper Windpower C-96 wind turbines, each with a 2.5 megawatt capacity. The farm will be 100 percent owned by BP Wind Energy.

The Sherbino 1 wind farm, with 50 turbines, became commercially operational in October 2008 and is a joint venture between BP Wind Energy and NRG Energy.

Power produced from phase 1 is delivered into the ERCOT transmission system, BP said.

There are three wind farms owned by Florida Power and Light, one owned by American Electric Power and the two owned by BP, May explained. This is the second wind farm for BP in Pecos County and the fourth BP wind project in the state.

There are a total of 430 wind turbines in Pecos County and growing, May said. In fact that number could triple over the next two years, he said.

The first towers to go up
McCamey, just one hour south of Odessa in Upton County, holds the distinction of the “wind energy capital of Texas.” McCamey was ground zero for the wind energy industry when the first towers were erected more than a decade ago.

“It is not that we have the most towers, it is because it all started here,” said Sherry Phillips, mayor of McCamey and president of the economic development board.

There are 860 turbines along mesas in a horseshow effect around McCamey, located in Upton, Pecos and Crockett counties.  The first turbines went up in 1999 on Southwest Mesa and others followed. Now turbines are located on Woodward Mountain, Indian Mesa and Desert Sky Mesa, Phillips said.

“There were boo coos of jobs created,” Phillips recalled.

Phillips said companies like Florida Power and Light, NextEra, General Electric and American Electric Power (AEP) have been good community partners and that the wind energy business has been positive for the city and county.

Wind blows in Notrees
There are 96 wind turbines along the Cap Rock near Notrees, which are part of Duke Energy’s 153-megawatt wind farm, located in Ector and Winkler counties.

In November 2009, Duke Energy announced plans to match a $22 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to install large-scale batteries capable of storing electricity produced by the Notrees wind farm. Duke Energy will work closely with ERCOT to integrate the wind power and battery storage solution into the state’s independent power grid, according to the company website.

Duke Energy chose Xtreme Power to design, install and operate a 36 MW-capacity Dynamic Power Resource system at the wind farm. When complete, the battery storage system will be one of the largest of its kind in the world according to the Duke Energy website.

Now Duke and Ector County landowner and rancher Sonny Henderson are in negotiations on a contract to put between 65 and 100 turbines on 13,120 acres he owns.

“We still haven’t signed the contract,” said Henderson, owner of Henderson LTM.

Henderson, who has had wind energy studies conducted over the past ten years, said the area is perfect for wind power.

“This is the best spot in the country,” Henderson said. “On the Cap Rock, you’ve got layers of wind.”

And he said the future of wind power is positive.

“It has been here for a million years,” Henderson said. “It is going to be one of the alternative energy sources – I think it will go on forever.”

---

Comments

Page 1 of 1 pages

---

Post a Comment

Please keep your comments relevant to the post. Inappropriate or promotional comments may be removed. Email addresses are required to confirm comments but will never be displayed.