TEXAS STILL LIKES WIND

Wind energy's future still strong in Texas
Editorial, January 17, 2010 (Dallas Morning News)

"Two years ago, wind energy seemed to be gusting in the right direction, especially in Texas.

"T. Boone Pickens had become the unlikely Pied Piper of wind power – a wealthy oilman… preaching the need for… wind energy. He backed up his words with a $2 billion order for 687 wind turbines…1,000 megawatts of capacity…But recently, Pickens sharply cut his order for the GE-built turbines…[and postponed his plans] to build the world's largest wind farm [in the Texas panhandle]."

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"Texas hasn't become less windy, nor has the legendary risk-taker gone weak in the knees. Our state produces more wind power than any other, but economic winds temporarily have blown cold air on this industry…Cheaper natural gas and difficulty securing loans for wind projects are part of the problem. And even if money were flowing, there aren't enough transmission lines to carry wind-generated electricity from remote sites such as the Panhandle to urban centers such as Dallas and Fort Worth.

"Pickens maintains that once those transmission lines are in place, he will renew his efforts to build the world's largest wind farm. Meanwhile, Austin has approved a process to speed transmission-line construction…two designated zones in the Panhandle…[T]he process is slower…[but] neither Texas nor Pickens has turned away from wind energy."

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"Support for wind energy is crucial for [Texas] – and the entire nation – as we pursue long-term cleaner-energy alternatives…[N]ew wind energy projects…could help wean this nation from its dangerous dependence on foreign sources of energy and keep America competitive as the world shifts toward cleaner fuels.

"China…is among the major players that are aggressively developing wind energy. For economic, environmental and national security reasons, the United States must not waver in its commitment to alternative energy sources…Texas is moving in the right direction on wind power and we hope will carry the nation with it."