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The Future of Energy Could be Blowing in the Wind
| The problem with wind energy, the collective wisdom goes, is that you can't control when the wind is going to blow. True, says Paul Sadler, the executive director of the Wind Coalition, but the energy created by wind power can be stored. And there lies the problem: how can Texas store and transmit wind energy? According to Sadler in a recent Austin-American Statesman commentary, wind makes up 8 percent of our energy capacity. "But because of a lack of transmission lines, wind supplies only 4 percent of our power." Sadler believes Texas is at a crucial crossroad right now when it comes to wind energy. Texas has ample wind resources, as well as lawmakers willing to craft new energy policies in regard to harvesting the potential of wind energy. Combine all this with the Obama administration's stimulus package with money designated for green technologies, and the road seems paved for the future of wind energy. Sadler is concerned that Texas lawmakers won't move quickly enough or be as aggressive about wind energy storage as they should be. "When you consider the day is coming when we will be able to store wind-generated electricity, and even further down the road the day is coming when we will run out of fossil fuels, the wise course is to craft energy policies that reflect tomorrow's energy realities." Even if Texas lawmakers aren't ready to face that reality, Washington may be. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, said in a recent hearing about meeting America's energy needs that wind-generated energy could someday replace coal-fired power plants. According to the Associated Press, Salazar told the Atlantic City audience, "The idea that wind energy has the potential to replace most of our coal-burning power today is a very real possibility." Coal currently provides about half of America's electricity and representatives from the coal industry sounded less than impressed with Salazar's view of the future. Salazar said that ocean winds along the East Coast could generate five times the power of coal plants currently operating in the United States. The American Coal Council felt that claim was "a stretch." Even advocates of wind energy concur that it would take hundreds of thousands of wind turbines to generate that much power. These turbines pose problems because they are considered unsightly by some and potentially dangerous to wildlife by others. However, Salazar will host three other gatherings across the country to discuss the future of America's energy resources, highlighting solar, wind, waves, oil and gas. The Atlantic City Convention Center was chosen for the first venue because it boasts the nation's largest solar-paneled roof. As for the future of wind energy, Texas will be the likely proving ground. Construction is set to start this summer on a wind farm off the coast of Galveston. According to the office of the Land Commissioner, Wind Energy Systems Technologies is expected to complete the 150-megawatt-per-year project in 2010. Salazar, Sadler and others will be watching this project carefully to see just how strong this wind of change can blow. |
About the Author
Ki graduated from the University of Texas, and now works as a realtor in the Austin Texas real estate market. He maintains a website, which has a searchable database drawing from Austin MLS and keeps a blog with monthly statistics on Austin real estate.
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