Thursday, January 19, 2017

So, That's Why Wind Energy Expanded in Texas and Under Perry Could Expand Around The Nation


From article, "Rick Perry expresses ‘regret’ for pledging to abolish Energy Department|"
(Many people say that Perry, despite his past vow to dismantle the department, has valuable experience for running it. As governor, he benefited from a rapid expansion of oil and gas exploration in new shale oil and shale gas plays. But he also oversaw an expansion of transmission lines that made way for a rapid expansion of wind energy.

[Me, "So, the big thing that helped Wind Power expand in Texas, during Rick Perry's Gov. administration, was building out more transmission lines. If he expanded transmission lines in Texas, maybe he could expand transmission lines in other states. A lot of Wind Projects have the problem of strong winds in one area, of a state, but no transmission lines to get it to other areas of that state or neighboring states that need it."]

“Under Rick Perry’s leadership, Texas created a stable, long-term, competitive energy market, combined with robust infrastructure investment, which allowed new technologies, like wind, to enter,” the American Wind Energy Association’s chief executive, Tom Kiernan, said in a letter to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

During Perry’s tenure, Texas became the nation’s leading wind energy state. In 2000, Texas wind energy production was 200 megawatts. By the end of 2015, the state had nearly 18,000 megawatts of installed capacity, driven by more than $32 billion of private investment in wind farms.

[Me, "That's a pretty impressive gain in Wind Energy."] 

Perry’s decision to support expansion of the Texas electric transmission lines spurred almost $7 billion in areas such as western Texas.)

[Me, "So, what is needed is more investment in U.S. transmission lines and Wind Power could become a hugely important national asset!"]