[ProtectOurFreedom]

Wind is a lousy resource in Texas because ERCOT is an island. Wind stops, you can’t ramp enough base load fast enough and, boom, down you go.

So double your capital cost for an energy storage plan, probably compressed energy, to make the energy from wind dispatchable.

[thackney]

Wind is a lousy resource in Texas because ERCOT is an island. Wind stops, you can’t ramp enough base load fast enough

Texas electricity is generated by 49% Natural Gas. It ramps up very fast, much of that is turbine generators.

Texas’s Electricity Profile:
Electric Power Industry Generation by Primary Energy Source, 1990 Through 2006
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/st_profiles/sept05tx.xls

Wind is fine as a power source as long as it doesn't require special subsidies. The reliability of wind power should be factored into it price and discounted accordingly.