Alternative energy fact: Texas and other red states still lead the nation in wind farms
KNIGHT RIDDER/TRIBUNE 2:11 PM ET 2/9/2017
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Feb. 09--Wind power capacity has surpassed hydroelectric as the nation's leading renewable energy, thanks in part to Texas' booming wind farms, according to Department of Energy figures.
The news was publicly announced in Arlington this morning during the release of the American Wind Energy Association's fourth-quarter report. The 6,478 megawatts installed nationally at the end of 2016 was the second best quarter ever. And that was just enough to push wind to the front in renewable capacity, though hydroelectric still produces more electricity.
"It's reliable. It's affordable. It just makes good business sense," said Tom Kiernan, the association's CEO.
He pointed out that the cost of wind energy has dropped by about two-third during the past seven year. The industry group's research showed that Texas still leads the nation with triple the capacity of any other state.
The wind capacity in Texas -- 20,321 megawatts -- is enough to power the equivalent of 5.7 million average homes. That capacity is nearly one-quarter of the 82,183-megawatt U.S. total.
The wind energy report was released this morning during a news conference at Arlington'sGeneral Motors Assembly Plant. Plant officials announced last year that they were buying 50 megawatts of electricity from a new 150-megawatt wind farm east of San Angelo.
By 2018, the 3 million-square-foot plant is expected to be GM's first powered entirely by renewable energy.
Wind energy officials pointed out that Texas added more capacity than any other state in 2016 and is home to more than half the new capacity now under construction. Texans get about 15 percent of their power from wind.
Officials here pointed to plentiful wind energy and cheap natural gas as the combination that's kept electric prices low in Texas. And they said that's likely to continue despite uncertainty in Washington.
President Donald Trump, during his campaign, loudly proclaimed his support for fossil fuels, from freeing up stalled pipeline projects to reviving the coal industry. And on a few occasions, Trump criticized wind turbines on aesthetic grounds.
Jeffrey Clark, president of The Wind Coalition, said wind energy isn't a partisan issue. He said that nearly 88 percent of wind capacity installed in 2016 was in states that voted for Trump. Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and North Dakota are among the states that added the most wind capacity last year.
And a great deal of demand is coming from corporate America. Supporters argue that wind provides a more predictable long-term price that's attractive to business.
Facebook's (FB) $1 billion Fort Worth data center -- which is still under construction -- will be powered by a wind farm near Wichita Falls. The social media giant is part of the group building the wind farm.
Home Depot (HD) announced last month that it was buying 50 megawatts from a wind farm near McAllen. Last year, Johnson & Johnson(JNJ) announced a deal to buy 100 megawatts of capacity from a wind farm in the Texas Panhandle.
Other big corporate buyers include Google(GOOG), Amazon and Procter & Gamble(PG). |
