This article is the introduction to a case study by DNV GL. The energy landscape is rapidly changing, especially for Texas’s unique energy marketplace and electricity grid. New offerings, disruptive technologies, complex regulations and accompanying rule changes, and expanding offerings were instigating huge growth for ERCOT, the Texas ISO. In late 2012, ERCOT’s Board of…
Texas wind project creates construction jobs, boost local tax revenues from 75 turbines
First Wind, an independent U.S.-based renewable energy company, today announced that it has obtained $206 million in financing for its Route 66 Wind project in Armstrong and Carson Counties, Texas. With financing closed for its first renewable energy project in Texas, First Wind will continue engineering and construction activities on the project. The Route 66…
36 MW energy storage now online in Texas
Duke Energy Renewables has completed its 36-MW energy storage and power management system at its Notrees Windpower Project in west Texas. The system became fully operational in December, 2012. “Battery storage is an important innovation to address the variability of wind and solar energy generation,” said Duke Energy Renewables President Greg Wolf. “Developing an expertise…
Things I learned at WindTech 2012
Technical school for wind techs is usually about 18 to 24 months. But you can’t learn everything in a classroom. Sometimes you have to climb a tower, many towers. And that is good way to learn. But after a few years out of the classroom, it’s a good idea to come back and find out…
WindTech 2012 delivers a dose of realworld
Who is most likely to be hurt in the nacelle: the tech just out of school or the experienced older technician? Actually, said safety expert Todd Shelton with Star Safety Services, the more complacent one. “Their guard is down and they are not expecting an accident,” he said. Shelton illustrates the answer with a…
Texas university generates 60 kW from 3 VAWTs
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi President Flavius Killebrew officially “flipped the switch” recently to turn on three 20-kW vertical axis wind turbines, which make up the largest vertical-axis wind turbine installation of its kind in the United States. The site at the main campus also includes a small 4-kW campus wind turbine, which can be lowered…
Texas sets a new wind record
Texas set a new record for wind-power output in October 2011 as coastal wind farms start playing a bigger role in supplying electricity to the state, the grid operator said in a report. The amount of electricity produced from wind on the afternoon of October 7 set a record at 7,400 MW, more than 78%…
Chinese company commissions its first turbines in Texas
Sany Electric has commissioned it first of five 2-MW wind turbines in the U.S. in June 2011. The project broke ground in December 2010 and was undertaken by Sany Electric in Ralls, Texas, a town east of Lubbock. Baker RD helped in the construction phase of the contract. AVIC International, a strategic partner in China…
Texas power commissioner: EPA rules behind summer power problems
Barry Smitherman, a Commissioner with the Texas Railroad Commission, made the following testimony to a Washington investigative committee. The Railroad Commission was founded in the Texas Constitution in 1891, and we regulate the oil, gas, and lignite coal mining industries in Texas. We are recognized worldwide for our expertise in fossil-fuel regulation. Prior to my…
Texas HVDC line to reach Louisiana and Mississippi
Pattern Energy Group LP says it has reached a milestone in development of its Southern Cross transmission project in an agreement with several Texas utilities and making two applications with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. “Pattern is making steady progress on the development of its Southern Cross project, which will let Texas share its abundant…
Windpower helped tame the Texas heat of 2011
by Denise Bode, CEO, American Wind Energy Association. In contrast to the comments on some ill intentioned blogs, ERCOT (Electricity Reliability Council of Texas) CEO Trip Doggett credited wind power with a critical contribution during the summer power emergency in Texas. He did the same after a sudden freeze stressed the Texas system in February.…
Texas offshore projects to share $43 million
The Department of Energy recently announced $900,000 in funding for programs in Austin and College Station, as part of 41 projects across 20 states. The University of Texas is getting $500,000 to evaluate the potential effects of offshore wind energy facilities on electronic equipment, such as airborne radar and GPS operations. The Texas Engineering Experiment…
An offshore wind farm in our Gulf? Stranger things….
A wind energy company proposes erecting up to 200 wind turbines off the Texas Gulf coast between Corpus Christi and Brownsville. Houston-based Baryonyx Corp. has applied for a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop the offshore wind farm. One proposal would develop more than 26,000 acres off Mustang Island, just north…
Big dry-cell battery ready for use with wind farms and solar projects
Renewable energy projects often cannot consistently deliver electricity so some of the power must be stored, often in larger batteries. For example, the Notrees wind project will be the largest that uses a battery backup, and more such projects are in the pipeline. “We have a few large projects awaiting to be announced later this…
Software for long-range resource planning
ABB companyVentyx has a PowerBase Suite license contract with U.S.-based ISO Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). The company’s software adds long-range resource planning analysis capability to nodal electricity market operations.
More Brontos found in Texas
A company that focuses on wind turbine blade and tower inspections, maintenance and repair has purchased its third Bronto Skylift Model S-90 HLA truck-mounted aerial in less than 18 months. According to TGM Wind Services VP Kevin Darby, the company is ready to order two additional machines for delivery in mid-2011. The Bronto S 90…
Worlds largest wind farm going up (where else?) in Texas
General Electric says it received orders in 2008 for 667 of its 1.5-megawatt (MW) wind turbines from Mesa Power LLP, a company founded by T. Boone Pickens, the former oilman and founder of BP Capital. This energy investment firm and Pickens launched Mesa Power to build the world’s largest wind power plant, the Pampa Wind…