{"id":39696,"date":"2019-11-06T00:52:06","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T00:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/?p=39696"},"modified":"2019-11-06T00:52:06","modified_gmt":"2019-11-06T00:52:06","slug":"texas-is-becoming-the-windy-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/?p=39696","title":{"rendered":"Texas is becoming the &#8216;windy state&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"twitter-share\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?hashtags=climatechange%20%23windpower%20%23windenergy%20%23globalwarming%20%23RickPerry&#038;via=jkanelis\" class=\"twitter-share-button\">Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/wind-turbines.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-39697\" src=\"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/wind-turbines-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" srcset=\"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/wind-turbines-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/wind-turbines-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/wind-turbines.jpg 780w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>We&#8217;re No. 1!<\/em> It&#8217;s a common refrain heard on fields of athletic competition in Texas.<\/p>\n<p>However, Texas has achieved a top-tier ranking in a most fascinating &#8212; and one might say unexpected &#8212; category. Texas has become the most wind-powered state in the Union. Texas is known more for its pump jacks that pull oil out of the ground. They&#8217;re still doing all over the state, but <em>wind power<\/em> is not to be denied.<\/p>\n<p>I just posted a blog item lamenting the lack of discussion about climate in the upcoming presidential campaign. Here, though, is a reason to hope that Texas might become a leader in the discussion and promotion of wind energy.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/07\/25\/us\/texas-wind-energy-trnd\/index.html?fbclid=IwAR143RId87bOrRhNQJ_aLf5pxgAyufgv_0oxYAzzBxvs3so-kAJzItVpTCs\">The Electrical Reliability Council of Texas<\/a> reports that wind has replaced coal as the leading provider of electricity in this state. Yes, natural gas remains a huge energy source. Texas, though, has seen a skyrocketing rise in wind energy over the past several years.<\/p>\n<p>I am happy to report that my wife and I have sat at a ringside seat while Texas has become a major wind-power producer. We used to live just a bit east of the wind farm in Adrian pictured along with this blog post. We&#8217;ve since moved on to the Dallas\/Fort Worth Metroplex, but the wind energy industry is continuing to grow significantly along the High Plains of Texas.<\/p>\n<p>This is exciting news.<\/p>\n<p>Wind power remains a costly endeavor. It is expensive to produce and store electricity generated by wind. Believe me, though, the Texas Panhandle has an <em>infinite<\/em> supply of wind, which to my mind is the cleanest possible energy source possible. Whereas petroleum, natural gas and coal are <em>finite<\/em> resources, the wind will always blow.<\/p>\n<p>I usually am quite critical of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, however, I want to give Gov. Perry &#8212; who is soon to depart as secretary of energy &#8212; a proverbial high five for presiding over much of Texas&#8217;s wind-power development during his lengthy stint as governor. And, no, it didn&#8217;t hurt a bit to say something good about the man the late columnist Molly Ivins dubbed <em>&#8220;Governor Goodhair.&#8221;\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>So, the wind will blow in Texas. The state&#8217;s growth will require more electrical use. The wind will continue to play a growing role in fulfilling those power needs \u2026 and our precious environment won&#8217;t suffer a bit.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"twitter-share\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?hashtags=climatechange%20%23windpower%20%23windenergy%20%23globalwarming%20%23RickPerry&#038;via=jkanelis\" class=\"twitter-share-button\">Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We&#8217;re No. 1! It&#8217;s a common refrain heard on fields of athletic competition in Texas. However, Texas has achieved a top-tier ranking in a most fascinating &#8212; and one might say unexpected &#8212; category. Texas has become the most wind-powered state in the Union. Texas is known more for its pump jacks that pull oil &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/?p=39696\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Texas is becoming the &#8216;windy state&#8217;<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[269,1027,1781,3951,5272],"class_list":["post-39696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-environmental-news","tag-alternative-energy","tag-climate-change","tag-fossil-fuels","tag-rick-perry","tag-wind-energy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39696"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39698,"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39696\/revisions\/39698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}