Will Texas Wind Energy Be The New Petroleum?

The benefits of wind energy are something we've all been hearing a lot about lately and in some parts of the US, this renewable energy technology may be able to meet a significant portion of the demand. Other than the obvious good that using wind power can do for the environment, there are a lot of Texan oil companies which are beginning to diversify into wind. Keep reading for a look at the rise of wind energy in Texas and elsewhere across the country.

GE has a one and a half billion dollar contract to supply turbines and maintenance for an Oregon wind farm over the next decade, a project expected to create about four hundred and fifty jobs. T. Boone Pickens, Texas oilman, is getting behind wind power in his state, and wind farms are popping up all over in the American Midwest. That's because wind is worth a lot of money right now.

At present, the US imports nearly 70% of its oil, something which should worry anyone who would prefer that the nation be less dependent on foreign energy suppliers. This along with an increasing awareness of the environmental benefits of wind energy are filling the sails (if you'll forgive the pun) of the wind power movement. Along with wind, natural gas is receiving a greater degree of interest either as an alternative to wind or a complementary homegrown energy source.

There are already parts of Texas where you can drive for over a hundred miles and see wind turbines everywhere. Not everyone is enamored of how these structures look, but many look at these turbines as the future of US energy independence. In Nolan County, Texas alone, there are around 1,500 wind generators, accounting for around $5 billion worth of wind power infrastructure. This single Texas county generated more wind power annually than is produced in the state of California.

Other areas in the state of Texas are having similar wind booms. The Rolling Plains region has two thousand turbines in operation, and Midland and Odessa's Permian Basin region produces about six thousand megawatts of electricity from three thousand turbines. New towers in some areas are going up at the rate of three to four a day.

Clean, renewable and non-polluting, wind power has great promise for producing electrical energy. With energy industry giants like GE and T. Boone Pickens getting onboard, it seems that wind energy is something that Americans can count on becoming a more important part of how the nation's energy needs are met along with solar power and other renewable energy technologies.

Is wind the answer for all of our energy needs? Not everyone will give you the same answer, but it's already used in many regions and becoming an increasingly important part of our energy supplies by the day.