Pickens Orders First Turbines for World's Largest Windfarm

When complete in 2014, the windfarm is expected to generate more than 4,000 megawatts of electricity to feed into the Texas grid, enough to power 1.3 million homes.

Pickens said he expects that first phase of the Pampa project will cost about $2 billion, and that the first electricity from the project will be on-line by early 2011.

GE wind turbines in operation (Photo courtesy GE via EERE)

Pickens envisions that large scale renewable energy projects like Pampa will permit the United States to become less dependent on foreign oil. Also, once the initial investment is made, the wind just keeps on spinning those turbine blades, generating power.

"You find an oilfield, it peaks and starts declining, and you've got to find another one to replace it," said Pickens, who once operated one of the largest independent oil and gas production companies. "It can drive you crazy. With wind, there's no decline curve."

But big renewable energy projects are tough to execute because they rely upon the federal production tax credit, which provides incentives for the development of renewable energy.

Uncertainty arises because large scale renewable energy projects require financial commitments years in advance, while Congress has only extended the production tax credit one or two years at a time.

"I believe that Congress will recognize that it is critical not only to this project, but to renewable energy in this country, that they enact a long-term extension of the production tax credits," Pickens said.

The production tax credit is now set to expire December 31, 2008, although a one-year extension was recently approved by the Senate.

In April, the American Wind Energy Association, AWEA, renewed its call for Congress to enact a long-term, stable production tax credit.

"Industry expansion over the past three years can be directly credited to the renewable energy production tax credit," said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher.

"Studies indicate that an expiration of the tax credit will place $19 billion in renewable energy investment and 116,000 American jobs at risk," he said. "We are dedicated to the extension of this tax incentive, which will generate jobs and economic growth while simultaneously reducing global warming pollution."

The production tax credit provides an incentive of two cents per kilowatt-hour generated to facilities that produce electricity from renewable energy resources, including wind, biomass, geothermal, and hydropower.

The AWEA says previous short-term extensions of the tax credit have caused a "boom-and-bust cycle in the wind industry, increasing costs along the entire supply chain and keeping businesses from growing to their full potential."

Pickens says, "The development of alternative energy projects, especially renewable resources such as wind power, is critical for the future of the country in the face of declining world oil resources."

When complete, the Pampa Wind Project will cover some 400,000 acres in the Texas Panhandle and be five times as big as the nation's current largest wind power project, now producing 736 megawatts.

The Panhandle, with its wide-open spaces, low population and steady winds, is a logical location for wind-generated energy. Studies show the Texas Panhandle winds are optimal for such a project, blowing much of the time in the middle of the day when electric demand is at its peak.

Pickens expressed satisfaction that area landowners have been so supportive of the project.

"We have had a great response to this project," Pickens said Thursday. "We are making Pampa the wind capital of the world. It's clear that landowners and local officials understand the economic benefits that this renewable energy can bring not only to landowners who are involved with the project, but also in revitalizing an area that has struggled in recent years."

Mesa Power has leased land in Carson, Gray, Hemphill, Roberts and Wheeler counties, where the landowners will receive annual royalties for the wind turbines operating on their property.

Pickens' company Mesa Power LLP announced Thursday that it has placed an order with General Electric to purchase 667 wind turbines for the Pampa project. These turbines are capable of generating 1,000 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 300,000 average U.S. homes.

GE is to deliver the 1.5-megawatt wind turbines in 2010 and 2011.

General Electric, GE, runs the NBC television network in addition to generating power, manufacturing refrigerators, washers, and jet engines and a host of other products and services.

"T. Boone Pickens' commitment underscores the ability of wind technology to help meet the country's need for diverse sources of energy," said Jeffrey Immelt, GE chairman and chief executive. "As America's demand for energy escalates, it is clear that wind can and will play a bigger part in meeting that need."

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.