Move Over, Oil, There’s Money in Texas Wind ("big oil" investing in wind power)

New York Times ^ | Published: February 23, 2008 | By CLIFFORD KRAUSS

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Texas, once the oil capital of North America, is rapidly turning into the capital of wind power. After breakneck growth the last three years, Texas has reached the point that more than 3 percent of its electricity, enough to supply power to one million homes, comes from wind turbines.

Texans are even turning tapped-out oil fields into wind farms, and no less an oilman than Boone Pickens is getting into alternative energy.

Shell and the TXU Corporation are planning to build a 3,000-megawatt wind farm north of here in the Texas Panhandle, leapfrogging two FPL Energy Texas wind farms to become the biggest in the world.

Not to be outdone, Mr. Pickens is planning his own 150,000-acre Panhandle wind farm of 4,000 megawatts that would be even larger and cost him $10 billion.

“I like wind because it’s renewable and it’s clean and you know you are not going to be dealing with a production decline curve,” Mr. Pickens said. “Decline curves finally wore me out in the oil business.”

[Behind Liberal Lines]

no less an oilman than Boone Pickens is getting into alternative energy.... Shell and the TXU Corporation are planning to build a 3,000-megawatt wind farm north

So much for the conspiracy theory that "big oil" is out to destroy alternative energy.

[upsdriver]

A short-term threat to the growth of wind power is the looming expiration of federal clean-energy tax credits, which Congress has allowed to lapse several times over the years. Advocates have called for extending those credits and eventually enacting a national renewable-power standard that would oblige states to expand their use of clean power sources.

I wonder how popular alternative energy would be if the government didn't subsidize it?

[mtbopfuyn]

But, but what about the birds!!!

[SeaHawkFan]

Wind farms are attractive only because of the tax incentives. I was on a plane last week with a manufacturer of wind turbines and he was quite frank in saying their business would disappear if the tax incentives were eliminated.

[deport]

But, but what about the birds!!!

---

That’s the fight that is ongoing over on the King Ranch and Kenedy Ranch area now regarding a large wind farm installation. The Birds, the birds, etc along with a call for more regulation of the industry. Their claim is we regulate nuclear, coal, gas/oil generation facilities but not wind so lets develop another layer of gov’t and spend some more dollars......

[Mike Darancette]

I wonder how popular alternative energy would be if the government didn't subsidize it?

About as popular as a red headed stepchild who is so ugly they had to tie a pork chop his neck so that the dog would play with him.

[rodguy911]

I saw pickens on CNBC. He gave me the appearance of an oilman who has been beaten up by the enviros so many times he is just taking his billions and circumventing them. Even if it means $200. oil for the rest of us.

[millerph]

Wind farms are attractive only because of the tax incentives.

Is this because of start up cost or maintenence cost? I really would like to know more. Wind power & wave power are certainly reliable sources of solar energy. If start up cost and long payoff are the problem then tax credits may be a good investment in the long run.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Being a westerner all my life, I find these “wind farms” a real eyesore. I know that they do provide for some pretty neat, artsy-fartsy photography but they are still eyesore when viewed in person.

[Hegemony Cricket]

Misguided. The biggest winds are usually in D.C....

[upsdriver]

I agree, 100%. Those wind turbines ruin the landscape and are indeed an eyesore.

[FlingWingFlyer]

That’s why they were wanting to build one of these things near Red Ted Kennedy’s house in Massachusetts. He was trying to stop it. I never heard how that turned out. LOL!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I just read where Kansas City Power and Light reneged on building 100 MW of windpower... Said they couldn’t get financing.

[OldGuard1]

I don’t find them to be an eyesore (we have a number of them up here in Iowa), so my view is if they can do it without freeloading on my tax dollars, then power to them. If they can’t, then I’ll fight them every step of the way. Nobody’s taking my tax money for an unprofitable enterprise if I can help it, but if they can do it on their own and sell competitive-rate electricity, hey, score one for American entrepreneurship.

[businessprofessor]

The renewable industry in its current production levels is a political creature created by an alliance of rats, rinos, industry executives, and gullible taxpayers. Mandates are the game in renewable energy. Many states have mandates for renewables. The rats and rinos want national mandates. Take away the mandates and GW hysteria to see the real economic value of renewable energy technologies. I think that real value would be far lower than the current mandated levels. If the rats and rinos have their way, we will be locked into expensive renewable power for a long time.

[meadsjn]

Nobody’s taking my tax money for an unprofitable enterprise if I can help it,

Unfortunately, we can't help it. They take it and spend it, get negative results, then demand even more per year.

Since the days of LBJ, the cumulative expenditures on Social Services have reflected the national debt, so we've wasted 12 or 13 TRILLION dollars on socialism experiments, and society has gotten worse year by year. Up to now, Sociology has been the poster child for how to turn a pseudo-science into a science and get gazillions of government money for millions of miseducated people who otherwise would have less than zero marketable skills.

Green Spending™ to prevent Climate Change™ is the new Social Services program. Thousands (actually millions) of new jobs will be created, to solve problems that any reasonable person recognizes as a hoax. Trillions of tax dollars will be wasted, and the climate will keep changing (as it always has), and more money will be needed to keep this monster fed and growing.

[fight_truth_decay]

iberdrola (Spain)

http://www.iberdrola.es/wcorp/corporativa/iberdrola?IDPAG=ENSCOTTISH

..now owners of Central Maine Power (CMP) also building a wind farm in N.H. Maine is also on the verge of a windfarm as well.
There are those saying it won’t work, but it has worked in other parts of the world.

BP and NRG :

http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=22&contentId=2006538

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssEnergyNews/idUSWNAS910420080204

[OldGuard1]

Eh, it doesn’t matter that global warming is a hoax. If they can be profitable without subsidy, then it’s good. If they need subsidy, it’s bad. That’s all it really comes down to.

[JasonC]

It is all an utter boondoggle, supported solely by mandates on "renewables" passed by greens, and just results in higher prices for everything.

[teeman8r]

i have seen the wind turbines in the mountains of pennsylvania... and they didn’t seem to spin so fast that birds couldn’t avoid them... least not the healthy birds anyway.

teeman