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Competitive Renewable Energy Zones: How the Texas Wind Industry is Cracking the Chicken & Egg Problem
Competitive Renewable Energy Zones: How the Texas Wind Industry is Cracking the Chicken & Egg Problem
First published in the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Journal, 2009
By Becky H. Diffen
The wind industry has grown exponentially in the United States over the last 10 years, and in no place is this growth more extensive than in Texas. Wind farms in Texas were erected so quickly and in such great number that the transmission lines quickly became overloaded, resulting in congestion and the curtailment of wind generation. In what has been described as a chicken and egg problem, wind developers are not willing to build projects without adequate transmission, and utilities are unwilling to build more transmission without a guarantee from the wind developers. In order to attempt to rectify this situation, in 2005 the Texas Legislature stepped in and ordered the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas to create Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZs) to which transmission lines will be built. Read entire article here.
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