Wind Power News: Texas
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Gulf shrimpers brace for offshore wind
VENICE, La. – Trae Cooper risks punctures to the fiberglass hull of his grandfather’s boat every time he pulls out into the gray waters at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Trawling for shrimp that swim along Louisiana’s muddy coast means coexisting with the forgotten pipelines, corroded steel, gnawed plastic and bits of iron that the oil industry left behind as it marched gradually through these marshes and out to sea. And that’s why Cooper, 39, and many shrimpers in the . . . Complete story »
Old windfarm blades causing problems in Nolan County
Sweetwater, Texas – The wind farms in Nolan County brought big bucks into the area, but with those turbines needing new blades after a few years, finding a place to store the old blades was becoming a challenge. However, one company approached offered a possible solution and the city of Sweetwater was all ears the company would store the old blades in two facilities and then break the fiberglass blades down and sell them to other companies. But, according to Miesha . . . Complete story »
The Gulf’s first offshore wind energy zones prompt concerns from Texas, shrugs from Louisiana
Federal regulators have heard little from Louisiana about a wind energy zone proposed in the Gulf of Mexico near Lake Charles, part of a push by President Joe Biden’s administration to generate 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has been asking the public to weigh in on the Gulf’s first two proposed wind energy zones: the 188,000-acre area south of Lake Charles and a 547,000-acre area near Galveston, Texas. The Lake . . . Complete story »
Wind turbine disintegrates in Texas after a lightning strike
CROWELL, Texas – A North Texas wind farm is one turbine down thanks to what officials believe was a devastating lightning strike to one of the massive structures on Friday afternoon. Videos from witnesses and firefighters showed the wind turbine generator ablaze and disintegrate in the sky over Crowell, Texas. Doppler radar indicated there were plenty of lightning strikes around the Foard City wind facility before firefighters received the call about the high-altitude fire. Crews with the Crowell Volunteer Fire . . . Complete story »
Texas wind turbine turbine catches fire after lightning strike
A Texas wind turbine caught on fire after reportedly being struck by lightning, according to a man who began recorded video of th incident. Brent Havins told Fox News Digital that he was working at a cell tower in the area when he saw a lightning bolt hit the wind turbine in Crowell, Texas, and pulled out his cell phone to begin recording. The wind turbine then caught on fire while it was spinning, creating circles of smoke in the . . . Complete story »
‘It just disintegrated’: Lightning strike sparks massive wind turbine fire in North Texas
CROWELL, Texas – A lightning storm caused quite a shocking scene after it zapped a massive wind turbine in North Texas, setting it ablaze before it came tumbling down. Shortly after being struck, the wind turbine continued to spin, sending the flames in a loop and leaving rings of smoke behind. Videos of the fire were captured Friday and were posted to Twitter by Chris Lopez. You can watch this in the video player above. There's a big lightning storm . . . Complete story »
Galveston may get a massive offshore wind project, feds say
More than half a million acres of Gulf of Mexico waters some 24 miles off the coast of Galveston could be dotted by wind turbines after federal officials on Wednesday said they are considering leasing the area for energy projects. The proposed “wind energy area” covers 546,645 acres – larger than the city of Houston – and could produce enough electricity to power about 2.3 million homes, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said. A second proposal about 64 miles off the . . . Complete story »
Offshore wind farm proposed for Gulf of Mexico near Galveston could power 2.3 million homes
HOUSTON – The Gulf of Mexico’s first offshore wind farms will be developed off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, the Biden administration announced Wednesday, and together they’re projected to produce enough energy to power around 3 million homes. The wind farms likely will not be up and running for years, energy analysts and the state’s grid operator said, but the announcement from the U.S. Interior Department is the first step in ramping up offshore wind energy in the United States, . . . Complete story »
A massive wind farm project is being proposed along the coast of Galveston
President Joe Biden announced a new program on Wednesday that would develop offshore wind power in the Gulf of Mexico to address climate change. The Department of the Interior proposed two Wind Energy Areas and one sits off the Galveston coast. The area covers 546,645 acres, which could produce enough energy to power 2.3 million homes, according to the Bureau of Ocean Management. The second area is off the coast of Lake Charles, Louisiana, which would cover 188,023 miles, producing . . . Complete story »
Fate of the Texas power grid depends on daily whims of the wind
The ability of Texas—America’s oil and natural gas hub—to avoid blackouts during this summer’s punishing heatwaves is hinging largely on a different source of energy: wind power. On breezy days, Texas has plenty of electricity to spare—even as demand surges to unprecedented levels. On Wednesday, for instance, power use was forecast to skyrocket to a record 80 gigawatts. But officials haven’t even asked for conservation, thanks to vast farms in the Texas Panhandle and along the Gulf Coast that can . . . Complete story »
