Panhandle to Austin: Plug us
in
Apr 25, 2008 - Kevin Welch - Amarillo Globe-News
- McClatchy-Tribune Regional News About 300 people attended a committee meeting
Thursday where the message to Austin was to
plug the Panhandle in.
They heard testimony presented to the Texas
House Regulated Industries Committee at the
Region 16 Service Center that was intended to
influence the Public Utilities Commission.
The PUC is in the last stages of defining the
zones where wind development would be best,
what transmission lines are needed and who will
build them.
"Some of the economic impact information has
not been made part of the record," said Rep.
David Swinford, R-Dumas. "We wanted the testimony
today to fill in the gaps; also to show the
quality of the resource we have."
Oldham County Judge Don Allred testified about
the economic change the Wildorado Wind Ranch
brought to his county.
"That will increase our tax base some $250
million," he said. "It's what can keep us up
economically with the rest of the state." Gray
County Judge Richard Peet said wind energy is
a "new frontier" with staying power.
"It's not like oil and gas," he said. "That
will go away."
However, the lack of connection to the state's
population centers is blocking progress.
"There's no ground being broken because there's
no transmission lines," Peet said.
The lines are needed for the prime wind locations
that cover parts of West Texas from the Panhandle
to McCamey, Sweetwater and Abilene for two reasons.
First, the Panhandle is not wired into the
grid powering the rest of the state. Second,
the existing system near Sweetwater, where most
of the state's wind farms are located, is connected
to the state grid but is becoming overloaded.
When that happens, the Electric Reliability
Council of Texas forces some energy producers
to cut back. The lowest cost electricity gets
to continue flowing.
"We have seen some concern from traditional
generators because they can't compete," said
Bill Bojorquez, vice president of ERCOT.
Costs to build transmission lines from West
Texas to metropolitan areas range from $2.95
billion to $6.38 billion, says a recent study
by ERCOT.
In testimony Thursday, ERCOT President and
CEO Bob Kahn said fuel cost savings, perhaps
starting at more than $1 billion per year, would
help pay off the new transmission system quickly.
While wind energy would save ERCOT ratepayers,
who would first pay to build the transmission
system, there are other factors to look at when
measuring costs versus benefits, said John Harvey,
who testified representing John Deere Wind Energy.
He cited no air pollution, no water usage and
jobs that pay well as some of wind's benefits.
|
