Texas on the list for wind research center

Texas is in a nationwide race for a giant new U.S. Department of Energy-backed wind turbine research and development center.

The Lone Star Wind Alliance, a Texas-led coalition of universities, government agencies, and corporate partners, submitted a proposal for the project to the federal government on Nov. 13.

The University of Houston co-headed the effort with Texas General Land Office Commissioner Jerry Patterson. Patterson says he expects the bid winner, or a short list of candidates, to be announced in December.

In a release, Patterson says: "Where else but Texas can they build a test facility large enough to handle the nation's needs for the next generation of wind turbines?"

Patterson says the potential impact of the so-called National Large Wind Turbine Research & Testing Facility will be the equivalent of NASA's impact was on Houston during the space race in the 1960s.

"Anyone building wind turbines will want to be next to this facility," Patterson says. "Our facility will be a magnet for research and manufacturing. It will establish Texas as a worldwide leader in wind power for many years to come."

The Lone Star Wind Alliance includes several Texas universities, the Texas General Land Office, the State Energy Conservation Office, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the Texas Workforce Commission, Gov. Rick Perry's Emerging Technology Fund and the Wind Coalition.