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Land Commissioner Says Texas is a Leader in Wind Industry Innovation |
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Written by jonathan pitzer
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Wednesday, 12 March 2008 |
Texas is first in the nation for the production of wind energy, said Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson at a Nov. 30 Energy Technology Group presentation at the McCombs School of Business.
The Texas General Land Office manages 12 percent of the state’s land, provides oil and gas drilling rights and recently signed the first lease in the U.S. for offshore wind energy, Patterson said. “Our number one job is to make money. We made half-a-billion dollars last year on a budget of $40 million, which is a pretty good return on investment.”
Their money is made primarily on oil and gas royalty income, he said. “We’re also making a lot of our money on diversification into real estate.”
Not for the Birds
Despite the obvious environmental benefits of wind farms, some environmentalists are worried that migratory birds will be killed by turbine blades. “I’ve told these groups that after several generations of migratory birds, we’ll have smarter birds—it’s improving the species,” he joked. “It’s also the first line of defense against avian flu.”
More seriously, Patterson said that because birds migrate at known times of the year, routine maintenance could be scheduled during their flights. He added that birds tend to fly higher than the turbines and would most likely avoid them.
“More birds are killed flying into buildings than will be killed flying into turbine blades,” he said. Wind Only the Beginning
Because wind farms will be located eight miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, curvature of the earth will prevent them from being seen onshore, Patterson said. This invalidates the concerns beach homeowners have about the wind turbines impeding the ocean view.
Much of the wind power in Texas is generated in the far Western panhandle, yet the transmission of that energy to the more populated parts of the state will be expensive and require “significant investment,” Patterson said.
“A problem with wind is that it doesn’t blow all the time, but electricity is needed all the time. The simple fact, though, is that wind is here to stay. It is part of the answer, but is not the whole answer.” |
