Posted on 08/21/2015 6:39:09 AM PDT by bestintxas
A new energy boom is taking shape in the oil fields of west Texas, but it’s not what you think. It’s solar.
Solar power has gotten so cheap to produce—and so competitively priced in the electricity market—that it is taking hold even in a state that, unlike California, doesn’t offer incentives to utilities to buy or build sun-powered generation.
Pecos County, about halfway between San Antonio and El Paso and on the southern edge of the prolific Permian Basin oil field, could soon host to several large solar-energy farms responsible for about $1 billion in investments, according to state tax records.
On a recent day, contractors for OCI Solar Power LLC erected posts for a solar farm that will be the size of more than 900 football fields. First Solar Inc. was negotiating to lease an adjacent property, its second project in the county. Last year, the Arizona company began capturing sunlight on 400,000 black solar panels in a separate project, converting the abundant sunlight into about 30 megawatts of power.
SunEdison Inc. has presented plans for its own utility-scale solar farm to county commissioners, and Recurrent Energy, a subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc., is readying another site nearby for construction.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Once a scam, always a scam.
Yep. More taxpayer milking scams that would never exist if they had to stand on their own merits financially. Manufacturers, insider investors (incl. on Capitol Hill), landowners get rich; taxpayers get hosed...again.
Dumb and dumber. Must be funded out of Austin with other people’s money...and laundered subsidies which will then be donated back to Dems right before the companies file ch13.
Oil pumper covers about 1000 sq ft of land. Pipeline are under ground. These solar and wind farms take up land cover and render the land unusable for anything else.
F this. Put it into upgrading and new refineries.
I’d almost agree it’s a scam except for the fact Texas is the eastern part of the southwestern USA, one of the best solar power regions in the world. As such—especially in western Texas—watch for a lot of rooftop and small municipal solar panel installations. If I remember correctly, George W. Bush’s ranch at Crawford, TX has a solar panel installation.
I want to see some bar graphs breaking down the costs in the “investment”.
That land isn’t usable, not after Texas lost the Pecos River case to NM.
“we are especially thankful for nuclear power, the cleanest, safest energy source there is. Except for solar, which is just a pipe dream.”
Homer Simpson
You can at least ride across it and hunt something, run maybe 2 cows per 100 acres...
California energy companies have to buy out-of-state “renewable” energy to meet the state’s mandates.
Good that money goes to Texas but it could end at any time.
How can they produce effectively under the shade of all those taxpayer funded Texas windmills?
Nope. If you read the article:
State incentives in California, Nevada and North Carolina helped fund the construction of many large-scale solar farms designed to sell electricity into those local power grids. But in Texas, while there is federal financial support for such projects, there are no state subsidies or mandates that encourage solar power.
Sounds like you’ve been out there...lol. I like the drive from Dallas to El Paso, so much open area, beautiful in its own way.
Not a big fan on the I-20 corridor from Odessa to around Toyah. I do enjoy I-10 all the way from Junction to Sierra Blanca, especially around Kent. Lots of nothing but grass and hills.
I used to take the 10 corridor from San Antonio to Odessa. There is a point where you turn off the main highway and a few miles in the windmills start.
The solar has to cover up acres, but I see fields planted between the wind mills.
Correct, but data is starting to show the low frequency vibration of the blades has an adverse affect of living creatures not to mention the blades killing birds, insects, and bats.
Not overly but I will say as turbines increase so will the numbers.
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