Energy Solutions Part I-Wind

July 19, 2008

Several studies show Texas as having the most potential of any state for wind energy.  

For a number of reasons, already Texas has more wind-powered electricity than any other state in the nation.  In 2007 alone, Texas added 1,600 megawatts of new wind capacity and by May 2008 the total installed wind capacity in the state exceeded 5000MW.  As much as 10,000 additional megawatts may be going and blowing by 2009 with another 45,000 megawatts in some phase of the planning process.  Whether all of that generation gets built, we'll just have to wait and see.

That's the good news.  The bad news is wind is fickle.  It blows when it wants which may not be during high demand periods.  Also the West Texas sweet spot for wind generation is miles and miles from the high population areas that need the power.  

Just imagine pumping compressed-air energy into mature Permian Basin oil fields during off-peak hours and extracting it when necessary.  Sounds futuristic.   It is.  But it is the heart of a proposal for the upcoming legislative session - that Texas establish a public-private innovation prize for the commercialization of a large-scale project to store off-peak hour energy.

On another note.  Has anyone noticed the recent dip in crude oil prices following President Bush's decision to revoke the executive order prohibiting drilling in the outer continental shelf?  Now Congress needs to revokes its own prohibition.  Then both should get the OCS bid process moving.  The sooner they start. The sooner we'll have new crude oil reserves.  And the sooner the markets will know there will be new supplies of oil in the out years. 

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