Wind

The history of Texas wind power dates back, in essence, to the 1970s. In the period since then, changes on a local, state, national and global scale have drastically altered wind generation in the state. Today, Texas is the top wind-producing state in the U.S., with wind energy production accounting for 28 percent of power produced in the state. If Texas were a country, it would rank as one of the top wind-producing nations in the world.

Leading up to the mid-1970s, consumer electricity and fuel prices were heavily regulated nationally, as was the energy system in general. The lack of available funding by states and inefficiency prompted a change of tack, resulting in a push to deregulate and diversify energy production in the U.S. Over the following decades, utility monopolies that were previously government mandated were wound down. In Texas, the wholesale generation market was deregulated in 1995, with the full sector being deregulated in 1999.

The first major wind farm in Texas was built in Culbertson County in 1995. In 2005, the Texas Legislature passed a law that required Texas to increase renewable energy use, mainly wind, given the fact that Texas is located in a natural wind belt that generates a high volume of wind. The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) needed to, under the legislation, designate Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) throughout the state that resulted in sufficient transmission capacity. Under the resulting plan developed by PUCT, 3,500 miles of 345 kilovolt transmission lines were permitted, designed and constructed by eight transmission providers for a cost of $6.9 billion by January 2014. Texas initially saw significant growth in wind generation capacity from 2005 to 2008, with capacity quadrupling. However, congestion increased in 2008 and 2009, leading to sizeable wind generation curtailments and negative power prices. The CREZ lines helped alleviate these constraints from 2010 to 2014, helping curtailments decline to negligible levels. However, as wind-generation capacity in the state has continued to grow, so have power curtailments in recent years. These factors have influenced developers in Texas to move toward solar projects, which can be built closer to demand centers more economically, thereby not exposing them to transmission risk. [1]

Another force that shaped the Texas wind sector was globalization. Since the 2000s, companies from Europe have invested in renewable generation in Texas. Part of this is a push in Europe around decarbonization, while others came to Texas due to its wind resources. Many of these companies also brought knowledge and experience from their respective countries, helping develop the renewable industry in Texas.

Overall, wind production in Texas has shown how renewable energy in general is a bellwether of the globalization of energy infrastructure and the changing relationships between communities, producers and state politicians.

New Mexico also has a strong wind-power industry and has one of the fastest growth rates of wind-energy production among U.S. states. In 2022, 35 percent of New Mexico’s electricity generation stemmed from wind energy, more than any other energy source. [2]

The sector truly emerged in 2003 when the New Mexico Wind Energy Center opened. At the time, it was one of the world’s largest wind farms, generating up to 200 MW of power and coming online even before the state adopted a Renewable Portfolio Standard. Then, in 2007, the New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority was established. The state legislature created it to plan, finance, develop and acquire high-voltage transmission lines and storage projects. More wind farms followed. This included the Red Mesa Wind Energy Center in 2015 and the Casa Mesa wind facility shortly afterwards. In addition, several research laboratories were established in New Mexico to further innovation in the field. One such facility is the Los Alamos National Laboratory, whose researchers study the interaction between wind turbines and atmospheric boundary layer flows. Meanwhile, the Sandia National Laboratories comprises several programs. One helps design more effective turbine blades by predicting their behavior and performance before they are built. Another such program researches the manufacture of wind turbines with radar-absorbing materials. As such, both Texas and New Mexico have notable wind-power sectors that are growing at a steady rate.

Notes

1. For more information on the history of wind power in Texas, see Wind Energy, Scientific American, April 14, 2017.
2. For more information on the history of wind power in New Mexico, see Wind Energy, Department of Energy, 2023.

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