Portal:Texas/Selected article/26

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Wind power in Texas consists of many wind farms with a total installed capacity of 4,356 megawatts (MW) from over 40 different projects. Texas produces the most wind power of any U.S. state, followed by California with 2,438 MW. Wind energy accounts for 3.3% of all the energy used in the state and is growing, while large portions of wind energy produced in Texas also goes to markets in other states.

Several forces are working to the advantage of wind power in Texas: the wind resource in many areas of the state is very large, large projects are relatively easy to site, and the market price for electricity is relatively high because it is set by natural gas prices. The wind power industry is also creating many jobs and farmers may earn extra income by leasing their land to wind developers.

The Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center (735 MW) in Taylor and Nolan counties is the world's largest wind farm. Other large wind farms in Texas include: the Sweetwater Wind Farm, Buffalo Gap Wind Farm, King Mountain Wind Farm, Roscoe Wind Farm, Desert Sky Wind Farm, Wildorado Wind Ranch, and the Brazos Wind Farm. As of 2007, 942 MW of wind power is currently under construction in Texas. This expansion will help Texas meet its renewable energy goal of 5,000 new megawatts of power from renewable sources by 2015.