Wind power hits Texas record

Fuel Fix ^ | March 28, 2014 | Emily Pickrell

[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.

[sand88]

Unfortunately all the external costs of my wood stove are socialized as well. I use it in part because of the shutting down of coal plants raising my electric rates. The coal electric plant is a point source and a lot of pollution can be controlled at the source. That is not true with my wood stove.

Brilliantly put. Thank you.

Even though subsidies for new windmills have stopped I am certain the crazies in Washington will institute various new programs to keep the taxpayer funds flowing to these Green fantasies.

[lonestar67]

The future of wind is pretty dim

t Boone pickens sold out his wind holdings and is now bullish on natural gas.

there is so much natural gas in the united States and the capacity for it is skyrocketing— making wind relatively expensive as an energy resource.

I think they can keep what they have in the system but there is little point in building more wind power.

As others have said, an honest assessment admits that one of their important daily functions is killing huge numbers of birds.

If fossil fuels killed one tenth the birds these things do, they would be and have been shut down.

[Ben Ficklin]

If the two of you were really, really opposed to subsidies, you'd go after nukes and ethanol.

The reason Texas goes for wind is that the state is going to grow and needs to lower emissions.

Who knows? The Texas delegation is very powerful in the GOP. Maybe they can get these wind subsidies re-instated. And retroactive.

[cripplecreek]

I’m a hydro pimp myself.

If you want to go green, go green that actually works by re powering some of the thousands of existing dams in this country. Modern retrofits are expensive but the operational lifespans are many times that of windmills and the water flows every day all day. Not to mention the high value lake front property plus revenue generated by boating and fishing.

[palmer]

If the two of you were really, really opposed to subsidies, you'd go after nukes and ethanol.

If you were really really opposed to subsidies you would be opposed to solar, both thermal and photovoltaic. In the case of solar thermal, it is very expensive and stupid since the motors will degrade in the desert environment.. Photovoltaic is just expensive, and only makes sense in the desert SW or southern California where the sunshine mostly coincides with the energy need for A/C.

I am adamantly opposed to offshore wind whereas wind in Texas has a somewhat reasonable cost (hence the subsidy phaseout). I would certainly oppose any wind power being built around here (Virginia). It is done in WV but is basically a joke there.

[sand88]

If the two of you were really, really opposed to subsidies, you'd go after nukes and ethanol.

I am opposed to all taxpayer subsides to any industry or group.

Ethanol is another evil that should not exist.

The reason Texas goes for wind is that the state is going to grow and needs to lower emissions.

Lower emissions? Please tell me you aren't into the AGW scam. Considering geologic timescales, the level of Carbon in the atmosphere is actually on the low side. If anything the Earth could use more carbon to aid in plant growth.

If you have a chance, check out this book, The Chilling Stars. It is a fascinating read. It really is an eye opener. It is about the research of a Danish scientist, Henrik Svensmark. It seeks to explain how our Sun and Cosmic Rays interact to affect our climate.

Who knows? The Texas delegation is very powerful in the GOP. Maybe they can get these wind subsidies re-instated. And retroactive.

LOL. I hope not. Both parties are filled with hard-core statists.

[Ben Ficklin]

I thought VA going in big for offshore wind? Didn’t Dominion buy those offshore wind leases?

[palmer]

Wouldn’t surprise me if some politicians get bribed to support it. I went to the annual meeting of my electric coop and they quietly hinted their disapproval of it and other renewables. They are trying to limit their exposure to unreliable power and O&M sinkholes.

[stylin19a]

tax credits have expired before an congress seems to renew them.

dirty little secret is that the credits last for 10 years once you get one.

[BrewingFrog]

It is important to remember how the grid architecture is set up: wind and nat gas are add-on items. Nuclear is an always-on foundational element. Building more nuclear plants, especially of the more modern designs, would make a more robust grid.

Wind can not be counted on. It is a wild card.

[Paladin2]

The batteries in your electric cars are going to come in handy.

[DungeonMaster]

Compared to welfare and foodstamps and all other transfers of money to people who vote for a living, windpower is very very worth it.

[SamAdams76]

I don’t like wind. I wish the wind would stop.

[DungeonMaster]

If the price of nat gas goes up, coal, nukes, wind, solar become more competitive.

Very true statement. Several years ago natural gas was so expensive that it was costing 5 cents per kwhr just for the gas alone.

[DungeonMaster]

Very interesting, thanks for the post about the PTC ending. I suspect that it will get extended yet again though. I’d sure like to see the wind industry stand on it’s own two feet.

[sand88]

Compared to welfare and foodstamps and all other transfers of money to people who vote for a living, windpower is very very worth it.

The money give to the welfare people and the wind people is taken from others with the implied threat of force (if those providing money do not turn it over) -- that is immoral.

If wind power can survive in the marketplace of voluntary transactions then that would be wonderful.