posted on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 6:32 PM by Gunnar Birgisson

ERCOT Report Lays Groundwork for Transmission to Support Wind Development

Texas moved closer to developing the additional transmission needed to deliver wind power to loads when the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) issued a report identifying geographic areas that the Public Utility Commission (PUCT) could designate as competitive renewable energy zones (CREZ) under Texas law.  After the CREZ are established, the law then requires construction of the necessary transmission facilities between the CREZ and urban areas.   

Texas currently has more installed wind generation, 2508 MW, than any other state, and this number is expected to rise to approximately 4850 MW by the end of 2007.  However, as in many other parts of the country, the areas where wind power has the greatest potential are far from energy-thirsty population centers.  Texas legislation enacted in 2005 is intended to facilitate the development of needed transmission infrastructure to support future wind power development.  To that end, ERCOT’s analysis concludes that most wind farms would likely be located in the Gulf Coast region, the Panhandle, central-western Texas (along the Abilene-Odessa corridor), and in the McCamey region in west Texas.  Each area has different strengths and weaknesses regarding expected production and transmission costs, capacity characteristics, and daily and seasonable variability of winds.  The report states that several new high-voltage 345-kV transmission lines and associated grid upgrades would be needed to support expected wind farm development.

The PUCT is expected to make CREZ determinations in early 2007.  Any designations will be based on a wide range of factors, including costs of transmission construction and ancillary services, wind energy strength and benefits, and the financial support for proposed projects.