U.S. and China Leading the Way in Wind Power - 8/1/08

Numerous Texan transmission companies are forming a consortium to invest in the $5 billion cost of building new power lines for the state’s vast wind power.

The consortium includes Dallas based Oncor, Texas’ largest power delivery company, Electric Transmission Texas and parts of American Electric Power Co. as well as others.

The new lines called the “renewable energy superhighway,” will accommodate 18,500 megawatts of wind generation by 2012 which could power 4 million homes.

Texas leads the nation in wind power with a capacity of 5,500 MW.

This is the largest investment in clean energy in U.S. history.  Texas citizens will help with the cost by paying an extra $4 to $5 per month on their electric bills.  But they will recoup this cost in savings later.

Billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens has supported the wind energy industry by planning to build the world’s largest wind farm on 200,000 acres in the Texas Panhandle.

His 2,700 turbines will produce enough electricity to power 1.3 million homes.

Pickens plan calls for increase reliance on natural resources like wind and solar.  It wants to develop those two resources to the point that natural gas can be removed from power generation and put into the transportation fuel market reducing our dependence on oil.

Wind is clean, renewable and a stable supply of energy.

China could pass the U.S. in its efforts of harnessing wind energy.  China has the highest carbon emissions in the world so they must do something. 

Billionaire Zhu Yuguo has invested heavily in the wind power industry.  China’s wind generation has increased by more than 100 percent per year since 2005.  20 percent of the power supplied to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will come from wind.

The original goal of China was to generate 5 gigawatts of wind by 2010, but they met that goal by 2007.  Now their goal is 10 gigawatts by 2010, but some believe it could hit 20 gigawatts.

The Guanting Wind Farm in Beijing has a capacity of 64.5 megawatts supplying electricity for 100,000 homes.

China still uses coal to supply 70 percent of their energy needs; some experts believe wind power will compete with the coal generation by 2015.

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