facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts Windaction http://www.windaction.org/articles/c132+104?theme=atom Xarayar 2006-06-12T02:16:27Z .34275 2012-02-07T12:19:33Z 2012-02-07T12:19:33Z

The Public Utility Commission of Texas issued its latest quarterly report last week on the progress of wiring West Texas to deliver wind energy to metropolitan areas, and it shows the project first estimated to cost ratepayers downstate $5 billion will now run closer to $7 billion.

.33388 2011-10-22T15:15:49Z 2011-10-22T15:15:49Z

The rush to build transmission lines is part of Texas' efforts to promote wind power, which provides 8 percent of the state grid's electricity. Across the state, thousands of miles of wires are being strung at a cost that has soared to an estimated $6.8 billion. The main purpose is to ferry wind energy from remote areas like Sweetwater.

.32853 2011-08-25T17:29:26Z 2011-08-25T17:29:26Z

The new number, which amounts to roughly $270 for every Texan, comes from the latest update on the project prepared for the Public Utility Commission. Ratepayers will ultimately be on the hook for the cost, but no one has begun to see the charges appear on their electric bills yet ...Ultimately, the commission says, the charges could amount to $4 to $5 per month on Texas electric bills, for years.

.32723 2011-08-10T19:08:04Z 2011-08-10T19:08:04Z

Wind Energy Transmission Texas LLC, a joint venture of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and Isolux Corsan Concesiones SA, arranged a $500 million loan to build 378 miles (608 kilometers) of power lines in west Texas.

.32493 2011-07-17T12:21:35Z 2011-07-17T12:21:35Z

Utility companies building the transmission line projects have the right of eminent domain, which means they can legally gain the property rights needed for the CREZ projects.

.31238 2011-02-27T10:41:43Z 2011-02-27T10:41:43Z

The wind energy industry is playing a waiting game as turbines on wind farms throughout Texas will not have the ability to send the full capacity of their wind-power generation east for at least three years. The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) explained that it is still in the Competitive Renewable Energy Zones process of approving certificates for proposed transmission lines. The CREZ transmission line network's earliest completion date is slated for 2013.

.30966 2011-01-29T14:16:18Z 2011-01-29T14:16:18Z

Several landowners south of Junction have said they've been forgotten and abused in the transmission line routing that the Public Utility Commission approved on Jan. 20. The path of the transmission lines, being built by the Lower Colorado River Authority to carry wind-generated electricity from West Texas to the I-35 corridor, puts them through part of the townsite and through the land of Dean Martin, among others.

.30862 2011-01-21T16:37:13Z 2011-01-21T16:37:13Z

The Public Utility Commission unanimously approved a transmission line to bear West Texas wind power from just south of San Angelo to Kendall County, traveling along Interstate 10 from west of Junction to near the end of the line just east of Kerrville.From there, the wind power will mix in with the rest of the Texas grid.

.30825 2011-01-21T15:56:58Z 2011-01-21T15:56:58Z

The route for a controversial set of electricity transmission lines through the Hill Country was approved Thursday by the Texas Public Utility Commission, according to a news release from the Lower Colorado River Authority.

.30335 2010-12-11T22:33:42Z 2010-12-11T22:33:42Z

A north-south battle line took shape Friday as residents and attorneys for large property owners gathered before a panel of judges that will hear testimony on the proposed Krum-Anna power line. Two judges with the State Office of Administrative Hearings laid the groundwork Friday for about 700 intervenors to participate in a trial for a new 345-kilovolt line that would cross Collin, Cooke, Denton and Grayson counties.

.30284 2010-12-07T11:49:27Z 2010-12-07T11:49:27Z

Oncor's biggest fight in getting green energy from West Texas to North Texas will play out in Austin next week. Oncor wants its new 345 kilovolt transmission lines from Krum to cut through Denton ..."It [the route] comes close to four or five of our educational facilities," said Dr. Curtis Ramsey, Denton ISD trustee.

.30197 2010-12-02T11:32:24Z 2010-12-02T11:32:24Z

Opposition to the construction of high-voltage transmission lines in Texas could result in a smaller-scale project than originally envisioned by state officials, State Sen. Kirk Watson told a crowd of local workforce leaders Wednesday at a conference on renewable energy and state politics. "Elected officials and regulators are working at scaling back and actually scrapping portions of the CREZ lines."

.30141 2010-11-29T19:13:19Z 2010-11-29T19:13:19Z

The Tennesseee Valley Authority favors a Houston company's effort to build an electrical connection between windmills in Oklahoma and Texas and power users in the Tennessee Valley. The proposed $3.5 billion project would use direct current rather than the alternating current.

.30046 2010-11-20T20:47:09Z 2010-11-20T20:47:09Z

A judge's ruling has just kept the debate going over where to put wind energy transmission lines near Amarillo. The proposed transmission would connect new substations near White Deer and Hereford. The battle is between people trying to block routes from south of Palo Duro Canyon State Park to the Canadian River and especially in between.

.29878 2010-11-11T12:23:20Z 2010-11-11T12:23:20Z

In an effort to thwart a proposed electric transmission line that will skirt their town, the people of the tiny town of Clifton, northwest of Waco, sketched out a novel argument Wednesday to the Public Utility Commission: The line would hamper the town's ability to attract artists and inspire art.

.29887 2010-11-10T18:44:28Z 2010-11-10T18:44:28Z

To Hill Country landowners' undoubted relief, the Public Utility Commission will cancel plans to build one controversial wind-power transmission line, as well as a portion of a second. At a public meeting today, the three commissioners voted to go with a "lower-cost" alternative: upgrading substations and wires that already exist in the region.

.29746 2010-11-03T23:36:40Z 2010-11-03T23:36:40Z

The two CREZ lines that could be eliminated are the Gillespie (Fredericksburg area) to Newton (Lampasas County) and the Kendall (Comfort area) to Gillespie lines. These lines could impact Kendall, Kerr, Gillespie, Llano, Burnet, Lampasas and San Saba counties. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the grid operator for most of the state, has concluded that there are much lower cost alternatives than the lines.

.29617 2010-10-25T15:54:18Z 2010-10-25T15:54:18Z

Some of the very lawmakers who authored that law, under pressure from constituents, since have asked whether some of the planned lines still are needed. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state grid, has reported back that two segments could be rejected in favor of beefing up existing lines.

.29497 2010-10-16T18:01:18Z 2010-10-16T18:01:18Z

A recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the future of natural gas found that 80 years' worth of global natural gas consumption could be developed profitably with a gas price of $4 per 1,000 cubic feet or below. Plans for nuclear plants and wind farms were made under the assumption that gas prices would average $7 to $9.

.29473 2010-10-14T16:11:02Z 2010-10-14T16:11:02Z

At stake is where large transmission towers carrying electricity from West Texas wind farms to urban areas in the eastern portion of the state will be located. Also at issue is whether existing private power lines might be improved and utilized.