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Out of thin air: Successful wind confab in Houston points up Texas' growing role in alternative energy development

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Texas (Huston Chronicle)Although it tops the nation in the volume of man-made greenhouse gas emissions fueling global warming, Texas has taken the lead in developing an antidote. From nearly zero a decade ago, electricity generated by wind constitutes more than 60 percent of new energy capacity in the Lone Star State.

With 5,300 megawatts of wind-generated electricity on line, Texas is ahead of the next biggest producing state, California, and is poised to supersede a number of nations in developing an energy source that is free of pollution and does not consume precious water, saving billions of gallons a year.

In recognition of Texas' lead, the American Wind Energy Association brought its annual conference to the George R. Brown Convention Center, attracting 12,000 attendees, almost double the previous year's record number of participants. Nearly 800 exhibitors showcased products and equipment, including the massive turbines that are the signature image of the expanding wind farms in West Texas. In an indication of where the industry winds are blowing, Denmark's Vestas Wind Systems announced at the conference that it will establish in Houston next year its first American research and development facility.

Critics attack state and federal support for wind energy as a waste of public dollars for a technology that can never be competitive with more conventional sources such as coal, natural gas and nuclear. However, when a savvy Texas investor such as T. Boone Pickens launches a $12 billion project in the Panhandle to build the world's largest wind farm, it's clear that the technology is moving into the mainstream.

In Texas, wind farms swell traffic at the Port of Houston and revenues for farmers and school districts. They provide thousands of jobs. According to industry representatives, research into efficient vessels to store electricity will soon reduce the technology's principal drawback - the variable flow of electricity produced from wind.

Houston Mayor Bill White, whose administration has pushed a host of environmental and alternative energy initiatives, welcomes the growing pre-eminence of the city and state in wind energy technology. "Our goal is that Houston will not just be the energy capital of the world," said the mayor, "but for renewables and energy efficiency."

Although the Houston gathering produced upbeat predictions from wind industry leaders about continued growth, there is a cloud on the horizon. Congress has failed to agree on an extension of the federal wind-production tax credit that has been instrumental in making wind competitive with less expensive and polluting fuels such as coal.

The tax credit of 2 cents per kilowatt-hour established in 1992 and periodically extended is set to expire at the end of the year. Last year it provided $690 million in subsidies to producers of renewable energy. Although a majority of legislators support the wind subsidies, Democrats in the House and Republicans in the Senate are split on how to finance the provision. The House faction wants to tax hedge fund managers and other sources to pay for it. The GOP senators oppose any tax increases.

The Texas congressional delegation should work to achieve a compromise that extends the wind-production tax credit for years. At a time when the state is establishing itself as a international center of wind energy investment and development, federal support is essential to maintaining the momentum behind the expansion of this clean source of energy.

As published on-
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/5817401.html


Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

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Out of thin air: Successful wind confab in Houston points up Texas' growing role in alternative energy development
Posted by Endurance Windpower on Thursday, March 13, 2008


© 2009 Endurance Wind Power Inc.

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