Texas Leads Nation in Wind Power For Reasons Both Natural and Manmade

Texas does not necessarily come to mind as the first state you think of when it comes to alternative energy, or alternative anything else, for that matter. Yet, despite their long and proud history as an oil state, Texas leads the nation in wind power, one of the fastest-growing forms of alternative energy.

In fact, Texas leads the nation in the amount of installed wind capacity (12,355 MW), ranks second in number of windmills (7,772) and is first in the number of wind-related jobs (roughly 9,000).

It’s not exactly the result of progressive leadership. In fact, much of the installed wind power was put in place when George W. Bush was governor. It has more to do with the fact that Texas has the most wind power potential in the country, more than 1,900 giga-watts (GW). Texas has so much wind, that there are times when crane operators have to wait a week for the wind to calm down enough for them to raise the windmill towers.

To continue reading, click here

Image credit: Green Mountain Wind Farm Fluvanna by Leaflet : Wikimedia Commons 

RP Siegel, author and inventor, shines a powerful light on numerous environmental and technological topics. He has been published in business and technical journals and has written three books. His third, co-authored with Roger Saillant, is Vapor Trails, an eco-thriller that is being adapted for the big screen. RP is a professional engineer – and a prolific inventor, with 50 patents, numerous awards, and several commercial products. He is president of Rain Mountain LLC and is an active environmental advocate in his hometown of Rochester, N.Y. In addition to Justmeans, he writes for Triple Pundit, ThomasNet News, and Energy Viewpoints, occasionally contributing to Mechanical Engineering, Strategy + Business, and Huffington Post. You can follow RP on Twitter, @RPSiegel. RP Siegel, author and inventor, shines a powerful light on numerous environmental and technological topics. He has been published in business and technical journals and has written three books. His third, co-authored with Roger Saillant, is Vapor Trails, an eco-thriller that is being adapted for the big screen. RP is a professional engineer – and a prolific inventor, with 50 patents, numerous awards, and several commercial products. He is president of Rain Mountain LLC and is an active environmental advocate in his hometown of Rochester, N.Y. In addition to Justmeans, he writes for Triple Pundit, ThomasNet News, and Energy Viewpoints, occasionally contributing to Mechanical Engineering, Strategy + Business, and Huffington Post. You can follow RP on Twitter, @RPSiegel.