TEXAS WIND LOOKS TO GULF

Wind energy company proposes massive leases off South Texas coast
Mike D. Smith, June 16, 2011 (Corpus Christi Caller Times)

"…Baryonyx Corporation, Inc., has applied for a permit through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to install up to 200 wind turbines each in three areas between Corpus Christi and Brownsville.

"The company [which has built a wind farm off the coast of the United Kingdom] proposes building a wind farm on more than 26,200 acres off Mustang Island…An alternate, 45,000-acre site was negotiated with the Texas General Land Office in case of any concerns that may arise about Naval Air Station Corpus Christi operations…"

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"Baryonyx's senior vice president of offshore wind projects Mark Leyland said [his company is working diligently to ensure the proposed wind farms don't interfere with area military operations]…

"Leyland said Corpus Christi has the potential for…fabrication and storage needs — and associated jobs — should the project be built…The proposed site is under official review by a U.S. Department of Defense specialist and a report could be released within the next three months…[Naval personnel do not think] Baryonyx's initial plans to set up a few test turbines will strongly impact the stations' missions."

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"Wind turbines can cause radar problems such as false returns depending on distance, their positioning and certain weather conditions…[Nearby turbines] have caused radar problems, mostly because they are arranged in different directions and were installed too close together… [The Navy asks deverlopers to work with them early in the planning and] Baryonyx has shown a lot of willingness…

"Fully developed, Leyland estimated the Texas coastal fields could generate 3 gigawatts of electricity…One gigawatt can power about 250,000 homes…Texas is…the nation's wind energy leader and is actively trying to lease as much of the state's offshore waters for that purpose as possible, Texas General Land Office spokesman Jim Suydam said…[D]oing so creates a revenue stream for public education, similar to oil and gas revenues…[Texas leaves local issues to] companies and local interests [and only requires developers to abide by state and federal laws], Suydam said."