Texas Lawmakers Introduce Clean Power Green Jobs Bills

[Right Lane Cruiser]

Texas’ installed wind capacity comprises only about four percent of the state’s estimated developable wind capacity, so there is plenty of potential for additional growth.

The Environmental News Service - Mar. 18, 2009

Hopefully this spreads to other parts of the country as well! --Ed.

AUSTIN, Texas - A bi-partisan gathering of legislators, business people, and environmental advocates were at the Texas State Capitol in Austin today as State Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr. and State Representative Pete Gallego introduced legislation to allow the further development of the emerging renewable technologies market.

During this session, Texas legislators are looking at close to 100 bills filed on renewable energy, double the number filed during the last legislative session.

Twelve of the bills propose specific goals for increasing solar power, geothermal, renewable bio-mass, and small-scale wind.

Lucio and Gallego filed identical bills that would raise the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard. The measures would increase electrical utilities' renewables generating capacity from resources other than "high capacity wind" to 4,000 megawatts by the year 2020.

"We have met our goals for wind and we are very fortunate in Texas to have massive clean energy resources besides wind," said Senator Lucio. "This legislative session, five different senators - Republicans and Democrats, urban and rural, and six different representatives - Republicans and Democrats, urban and rural agree."

"We have all introduced legislation that would raise the Renewable Portfolio Standard requiring utilities to give Texans the clean energy they are asking for and industries are prepared to deliver - technologies like... [Read More]

[PaleMelanesian]

Great news!

Unfortunately for me, west Texas is where the wind is. East Texas is where the coal is, and dirty coal at that.

[Chuck]

Specifically, East Texas has lignite, and believe they strip mine it.

[PaleMelanesian]

Yes. There's a mine and power plant combination, just 15 miles south of me. They strip-mine it, cart it a mile to the plant, and burn it. It's one of the top polluting power plants in the nation. Our usual wind blows from the south.

[Shiba3420]

There are good wind resources inland up to 20 miles from the shore along the southeast from Galveston down to the tip. I suspect that is even more impressive wind offshore, but the maps I find either don't have any offshore or very low resolution offshore maps.

I'm hoping they add a lot of cencentrated solar and PV to the mix.

[mparrish]

Originally Posted by Shiba3420

I'm hoping they add a lot of cencentrated solar and PV to the mix.

The Texas lege (10 blocks north of where I am typing) can follow the Austin City Hall's (6 blocks south of where I am typing) lead.

http://www.austinenergy.com/About%20...olarSystem.htm

[PaleMelanesian]

Looks like a jackpot in the Texas panhandle.

[PaleMelanesian]

This PDF shows the wind offshore as well. Looks like gulf coast offshore is as good as the panhandle.
http://www.affordable-solar.com/pdf/us_windmap.pdf

[Shiba3420]

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

This PDF shows the wind offshore as well. Looks like gulf coast offshore is as good as the panhandle.
http://www.affordable-solar.com/pdf/us_windmap.pdf

I just keep banging my head when I see all that exploitable wind energy in the great lakes that no one is taking advantage of, and very few are planning to take even minimal advantage of.

Weird out the "exploitable" areas of wind dot Illinois, and then nothing. I wonder what is holding the other area right around IL?

[Taliesin]

The only thing I can think of for the west border of Illinois is the Mississippi River. The transition from that much water to land saps a lot of power out of the wind (look at the Great Lakes for another example of that, and realize it takes less water to make that border when it is flowing instead of stationary).

If you know what you are looking for you can see the same kind of thing along the Missouri River even though the rivers aren't marked on the map.