Land Commissioner Says Texas is a Leader in Wind
Industry Innovation
By Chantelle Wallace
Texas is first in the nation for the production
of wind energy, said Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson at a
Nov. 30 Energy Technology Group presentation at the McCombs School
of Business.
The Texas General Land Office manages 12 percent of the state’s
land, provides oil and gas drilling rights and recently signed the
first lease in the U.S. for offshore wind energy, Patterson said.
“Our number one job is to make money. We made half-a-billion dollars
last year on a budget of $40 million, which is a pretty good return
on investment.”
Their money is made primarily on oil and gas royalty income, he
said. “We’re also making a lot of our money on diversification into
real estate.”
Not for the Birds
Despite the obvious environmental benefits of wind farms, some
environmentalists are worried that migratory birds
will be killed by turbine blades. “I’ve told these groups that after
several generations of migratory birds, we’ll have smarter birds—it’s improving the species,” he joked. “It’s also the first line of
defense against avian flu.”
More seriously, Patterson said that because birds migrate at known
times of the year, routine maintenance could be scheduled during
their flights. He added that birds tend to fly higher than the
turbines and would most likely avoid them.
“More birds are killed flying into buildings than will be killed
flying into turbine blades,” he said.
Wind Only the Beginning
Because wind farms will be located eight miles offshore in the Gulf
of Mexico, curvature of the earth will prevent them from being seen
onshore, Patterson said. This invalidates the concerns beach homeowners
have about the wind turbines impeding the ocean view.
Much of the wind power in Texas is generated in the far Western
panhandle, yet the transmission of that energy to the more populated
parts of the state will be expensive and require “significant
investment,” Patterson said.
“A problem with wind is that it doesn’t
blow all the time, but electricity is needed all the time. The
simple fact, though, is that wind is here to stay. It is part of the
answer, but is not the whole answer.”
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