Good info.
“... the problem lies in getting power from the proposed site in the Panhandle to a distribution system,”
Some things haven’t and won’t change.
The big problem is that wind has a 20% to 28% capacity factor. That means you get 20% to 28% of the nameplate rating of the turbine. Of course, the bigger problem is what Texas is experiencing now - the wind doesn’t blow when it is extremely hot and you need the power the most. To get through the “wind droughts,” you need massive amounts of storage. The 4X to 5X overbuild of the turbines plus the batteries to get through week-long wind droughts means wind costs 10X to 20X conventional plants.
It is utterly ridiculous.
If it’s bad now (current heat wave), it will be worse when it gets very cold and cloudy with no wind. (Demand higher, generation lower, and solar goes to zero at night when it’s coldest.)
We are a long way from being able to provide batteries to get through week-long wind droughts. And even if we could, the capital costs would be crazy. Granted that big capacity in standby (probably gas fueled) generation isn’t cheap either. “Cheap” green energy is a figment of the imagination.
Commissioner Christian Pens Letter to Governor Abbott and Land Commissioner Buckingham Opposing Offshore Wind Farms Off Texas Gulf Coast
“Texas must stop President Biden’s offshore wind farms from invading the Gulf of Mexico, which endanger our gulf coast by harming delicate ecologies and vital industries and further cripple our electrical grid with more unreliable power,” said Commissioner Christian.
“From funding his ‘green’ energy fantasies with the passage of the largest climate bill in history to an unrelenting barrage of bureaucratic rules from his agencies, Biden has kept his campaign promise of transitioning America away from fossil fuels and our nation’s middle class is worse off for it,” continued Christian. “Offshore wind is just President Biden’s next ploy of taxpayer subsidized boondoggles that will have far-reaching implications for environmental ecosystems, industries, transportation, supply chains, local communities and more.”