Members of The Wind Coalition, a 35-member organization of wind producers, wind manufacturers and environmental advocates, will visit with lawmakers at the Texas State Capitol on March 25, which has been declared Wind Energy Day by Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas.
‘The wind industry is vital to producing paychecks and jobs, and its expansion in Texas is largely dependent on the state moving forward with its plans to build additional transmission capacity,’ says executive director Paul Sadler. ‘Our industry wants to continue to partner with policy-makers in developing this clean, renewable source of energy that is cost-competitive and critical to energy diversity.’
Wind Energy Day will include an multi-part display in the ground floor rotunda of the Capitol. Coalition members will also visit with dozens of lawmakers to discuss critical issues, including the competitive renewable energy zones (CREZ) plan authorized by the Legislature and recently approved by the Public Utilities Commission.
With 8,100 MW of installed capacity and another 1,630 MW under construction, Texas is on pace to generate three times as much wind energy as any state in the nation by 2011. The transmission expansion under CREZ is expected to bring another 11,553 MW of wind energy onto the Texas grid.
SOURCE: The Wind Coalition
