Big Wind

As we look for viable alternatives to the current energy crisis,  global warming and our dependence on foreign oil, we turn our eyes to the State of Texas with its vast open lands and abundant wind resources.  Texas has the most wind farms in the U.S. and, the world's largest wind farm: The Horse Hollow Wind Farm. The Horse Hollow farm uses 47,000 acres of land in two Texas counties to accomodate over 291 wind generators.  Soon to take that title though is a massive $10 million wind farm that T.Boone Pickens, formerly of Mesa Power, plans to build near the Texas Panhandle. Its called the Pampa Wind Project.

Mr. Pickens has layed out a plan to help America with its dependence on foreign oil: "The Pillar of the Plan: To create millions of new jobs by building out the capacity to generate up to 22 percent of our electricity from wind. And adding to that with additional solar capacity; building a 21st century backbone electrical grid; providing incentives for homeowners and the owners of commercial buildings to upgrade their insulation and other energy savings options, and using America's natural gas to replace imported oil as a transportation fuel." For more information on The Pickens Plan, go to: http://www.pickensplan.com 

The Pampa Wind Project will be built in four phases with wind generators capable of producing enough power to electrify more than 300,000 U.S. homes. It will be the world's largest wind energy project with a target completion date sometime in 2014. It will cover more than 400,000 acres of land across the Texas Panhandle. General Electric will supply the wind turbines and both Mr. Pickens and GE will be putting a lot of American people back to work.

These big wind projects are capital driven because it takes millions of dollars to build them. Turbines are now selling for over $2 million dollars each (without installation costs) and need to be ordered 2 to 3 years out. Depending on the location, transporting a single turbine can cost over $15,000. Access to the job site may include building new roads capable of carrying 30-ton trucks, heavy construction equipment, and the cost of getting a mobile crane to the job site. From the perspective of the energy developer, the cost effectiveness of a wind farm will increase with a wind turburine's capacity factor (how much electricity it will produce), the size of the turbine, and how many turbines are installed on the land.

The business of wind energy is rapidly growing due to the fact that  many governments are now supporting it. Investors are putting their financial backing into the wind industry because they can see that it's one alternative wave of the future. As investors become more confident, there will be more money available for companies to start up or expand. And that leads, of course, to more job opportunities, which is exactly what we Americans need today.

We need to invest all of the time and energy we can spare to the conversion from a fossil fuel burning society to one that is green for several different reasons. The green economy will not harm the environment or the quality of air - like fossil fuel burning does. We can become the energy independent nation that we need to be by cutting away our need to import oil, especially oil that is produced by anti-American nations such as Iran.

Ultimately, wind farming and other renewable energy sources are far less expensive than the continuous mining and drilling for fossil fuels. With the new 2009 baby boom here, we will consume more energy than ever before as we sail into the 21st century and beyond. Our dependency on foreigners for meeting these energy needs leaves us open to sabotage while draining our overly-depleted coffers. Let's get back to being independent again by supporting big wind and little wind projects all over the USA.

A link where you can view photographs (in PDF format) of the construction of the Maple Ridge Wind Farm, New York, built in 2005.
http://www.tughill.org/MapleRidgeWindProject.htm