https://reasonstobecheerful.world/texas-wind-power-renewables-future/
"The remote and windy town of Roscoe, just over 200 miles west of Dallas,
Texas, is in many ways an unassuming place. It’s home to about 1,000 residents,
as well as a post office, a cemetery and an annual “mud bog” competition for
racing truck drivers.
But in October 2009, construction was completed on the Roscoe Wind Farm, which
at the time was the largest wind farm in the world. Some 627 wind turbines,
about 400 feet tall, are spread across the 100,000-acre arid West Texas
expanse, which is otherwise used by dryland cotton farmers who still cultivate
the land.
“It’s had a great impact on the area,” says Edwin Duncan, a 77-year-old
resident whose family farm had turbines installed on it as part of the project.
“[It’s brought in] money for the schools and employment for workers, and for
the general economy.”
Roscoe Wind Farm is a prime example of how the wind energy revolution is
quietly, or perhaps not so quietly, going about its business, blowing away
renewable energy goals. Although renewables like solar and biofuels may receive
more attention, wind power is at the center of the transition to a more
sustainable energy system. Every year wind energy production records are being
broken as the price is plummeting.
“Wind energy production has been one of the world’s great energy success
stories,” says Mike Hemsley, deputy director at the Energy Transitions
Commission (ETC), an independent energy think tank. “And we expect it to
continue.”
According to the International Energy Agency, an independent intergovernmental
organization, the amount of electricity generated by wind increased by
273 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2021, nearly a fifth higher than 2020, making it
the fastest-growing of all power generation technologies. Wind is now the
leading non-hydro renewable, generating a total 1,870 TWh in 2021 — almost as
much as all the others combined."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
