Posted on 03/28/2014 1:24:37 PM PDT by thackney
New West Texas transmission lines helped Lone Star wind power reach new gusty heights, hitting a record of more than 10,000 megawatts of generation late Wednesday night.
The new West Texas transmission lines – with the unwieldy name of Competitive Renewable Energy Zone lines – cost the state almost $7 billion by the time they were completed last December, but are expected to earn their keep, giving the state the ability to nearly double its use of wind energy.
“These Texas wind records were made possible by the completion of the Competitive Renewable Energy Zone transmission lines earlier this year,” said Michael Goggin, the transmission expert for the American Wind Energy Association in a written statement “These power lines connect world-class wind energy resource areas in West Texas and the Texas Panhandle to electricity demand centers in other parts of the state.”
Wind generation accounted for nearly 30 percent of the 35,768 megawatts of electricity at its peak that evening, and made up nearly 40 percent the following morning, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
One megawatt is enough electricity to power about 200 homes during periods when electric use is highest and about 500 homes during mild weather when less electricity is being consumed.
The new record beats a prior one earlier this month by more than 600 megawatts, and is also the record for wind generation in any U.S. power system.
The new West Texas transmission lines, an almost $7 billion investment completed last December, are expected to allow the state to nearly double its use of wind energy, Goggin said.
The Texas grid has more than 11,000 Megawatts of commercial wind power capacity, as well as an additional 8,000 megawatts of projects in development and another 26,700 megawatts under study, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the grid for about 90 percent of the state.
Wind power made up 9.9 percent of the total energy used in the Texas region in 2013, up from 9.2 percent in 2012.
The fact that you can build new transmission lines anywhere today is remarkable. Wind may work well with combined cycle generation as the combustion turbine can get to 100% power in a few minutes when the wind dies down.
Not surprised it is in Texas which has become the last holdout for the American economic system.
They also should report the tens of thousands of birds (eagles and hawks included) and bats these monstrosities have killed. Woe be to the oil producer who has an oil spill or tank uncovered and a bird finds its way to his location. $10,000 fine, automatic.
There are places where it may make sense, and places where it doesn’t. It’s just not viable for anything other than a supplemental source of power on a large scale.
it’s quite a sight to seem them out in west Texas. Didn’t ever realize just how big those things are.
Lets just say on Wednesday the wind was blowing shingles off house’s in Howard county.
No, it’s not. It is expensive beyond anything else, unreliable (the wind doesn’t always blow), and fully dependent on Government subsidies to make it even barely viable. Not to mention its deleterious effects on wildlife and plain ruination of many beautiful areas now blighted by eyesores.
Wind Power is a worthless waste. A green scam like all the rest.
There was a time when I could sit on the back part of the ranch and not see a one. Now I count over 300 close and on the horizon.
I agree and when they break down or require a fix they usually just sit there and rust. Isn’t that the case often in California? How long to recoup 7 billion plus upkeep and labor and anything else and they never get out of the red. No sense at all.
Of course it’s worth it, but the thing is, you have to get government out of the electric generation business and then start demanding rate cuts after a specific amount of time since government and the utilities don’t make or generate the wind.
“No, it’s not. It is expensive beyond anything else, unreliable (the wind doesn’t always blow), and fully dependent on Government subsidies to make it even barely viable. Not to mention its deleterious effects on wildlife and plain ruination of many beautiful areas now blighted by eyesores.”
And Texas, of all places is falling for such a scam that not only rips off the taxpayers of Texas, but cuts into the profits of oil and gas companies based in the Lone Star State.
How on earth, you have to wonder, did the Texas Legislature and Governor fall for the wind power scam?
No! Without taxpayer subsidies these endeavors would never see the light of day.
Fossil fuels are much more efficient at delivering our needed energy needs. We have many 100s of years of easily accessible energy.
If wind power and solar power had to succeed strictly in the marketplace then 99.9% of all the evil Green garbage would disappear.
For perfect reliability, you just need a gas turbine to power a big fan in front of each wind turbine.
Yes it’s definitely worth it.
The only way I can see the wind thing working is if there were some way to capture the energy NOT being used, and store it until its needed.
But they dont make batteries that big, do they?
Look to your state economic development fund/agency/bureau etc. The green energy scams have found a ready source of funding in them.
“For perfect reliability, you just need a gas turbine to power a big fan in front of each wind turbine.”
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Or a bunch of new well-paid federal employees (with an appropriate number of supporting managers, executives and union officials) sitting on a platform in front of the turbine “fanning” it.
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