Good news on the alternative energy front: Texas managed to break the U.S. wind energy generation record last Friday morning when it produced 6,272 MW of power–19% of the total electricity mix. The state, which is the country’s wind power leader, got just 6.2 percent of its electricity from wind overall last year.
In actuality, Texas is capable of producing much more than 19% of its electricity from wind using current turbine installations. The problem is a lack of transmission lines to take the power to the urban centers where it is needed most. But Texas plans on investing $5 billion in transmission lines over the coming years–a project that will take wind energy from West Texas, which produces 89% of Texas’ wind capacity, to cities like Houston and Dallas. Overall, the U.S. hopes to get 20% of its energy from wind turbinesby 2020–a lofty goal considering Texas is just now reaching that milestone.
Via BusinessGreen
