Show Me the Transmission

Texas may not be the "Show Me" state, but we sure do seem to be showing the rest of the nation how to do wind energy. Texas has become an example of how to move forward with wind energy development. One of the ways we are planning for and making future development possible is by expanding our build-out of transmission lines to reach the windy regions of West Texas.

Class 4 Winds, a wind advocacy group based in Amarillo, Texas recently held a seminar entitled: Transmission - Where We Are Now. The event featured speakers from numerous entities involved with the transmission build out in Texas, some of the them with the CREZ (Competitive Renewable Energy Zones) process and some involved with other plans to make the transmission of wind energy out of the Panhandle of Texas much simpler.

Those who spoke on the current status of CREZ included:

• Brian Almon with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT)
• Mark Meyer with Sharyland Utilities
• Cameron Fredkin with Cross Texas Transmission

Speaking on other current transmission projects in the area were:

• Pat Bourne with the Southwest Power Pool (SPP)
• Frank Barbera with Tres Amigas, LLC

Speaking on other various topics were:

• Harald Dirdal with Scandia Wind
• James Wester and Audie Sciumbato with Underwood Law Firm

I want to share with you a couple of the major things I took from the event. I'll have a more detailed description of the seminar in our monthly newsletter. You can also check Class 4 Winds' Web site; they should have copies of each presentation posted on their site sometime this week. I'll go over two important topics here today...

TOPIC #1 - Protesting and Intervening
Two different ways you can be involved in the PUCT's process for deciding transmission routes

Progress is being made in the planning of the transmission lines for the panhandle and it's important to know how you can be involved. Both Sharyland Utilities and Cross Texas Transmission are in the process of preparing their Certificates of Convenience and Necessity (CCNs) to submit to the PUCT (sidenote: if you are new to this blog/transmission development and curious as to how this process works check out this earlier post). You can find the deadline dates for CCN filings for each line segment that each Transmission Service Provider (TSP) is building on their respective Web sites. Most recently Cross Texas filed their first CCN on Monday May 3rd for their Gray to Tesla line.

Moving on to the point of this topic, it's important for landowners to know that they can be involved while this process is taking place. And there are two primary ways to do so outside of talking with the individual TSPs, essentially filing informal comments as a protestor and actually intervening in a case.

Basically, as a protestor you simply submit a verbal or written statement to the PUCT outlining your support or opposition of a specific project. On the other hand, to intervene in a case you must request intervenor status. This status is usually only granted to landowners who are directly affected by a line. As an intervenor you will be involved in the process in much more depth. You can find more information about the procedure involved with intervening in this brochure put out by the PUCT. It is recommended that intervenors have an attorney to help them with the process.

You can find all the forms necessary for being involved as either a protestor or intervenor on the PUCT's Web site (http://www.puc.state.tx.us/electric/forms/index.cfm)


TOPIC #2 - May 21st - A Final Hurdle
Developers deadline to post Collateral for Panhandle wind projects

Please refer to this earlier post for background on developer financial commitments for the panhandle CREZ if you don't know what has happened to date with this process, if you are familiar with the topic then read on...

These financial commitments that need to be made by developers working in the Panhandle seem to be the final hurdle. Once we get past this last hurdle then the rest of the transmission build-out should be rather smooth sailing.

Ten developers in the region have filed an intent to post collateral, all of them for a various number of Megawatts (MWs). At $10,000/MW it equaled out to approximately $126 million. An interim order was signed on April 21st of this year and the deadline for the developers to make the commitment is May 21, 2010. And if you didn't notice, that's coming up real soon. Be checking back from updates.

What's my conclusion?

Texas is showing the nation what it takes to be the state with the most wind energy development. Transmission build-out is moving forward, so stay informed and stay involved. Check back here for new information periodically.

You can always submit an anonymous question for us on our formspring page. Check it out, I'll be happy to answer any relevant inquires: www.formspring.me/cpwea

Until Next time...

Picture Perfect

It's been a while since our last post so I wanted to make sure that you all knew we were still kickin'! I wanted to share a couple of pictures that a CPWEA member (and previous board president) sent my way. These pictures were taken around the Sweetwater/Roscoe, Texas area which is home to the world's largest wind farm. It's just a few hours down the road from us.

And just a quick fact, the wind in our association's area is rated higher than the Sweetwater/Roscoe area. With our wind resources and the transmission lines that are going to be built soon it is very likely that our area will one day have more build out than our friends just south of here do. Let's all keep hoping and working to make that one day come soon!

Enjoy the pictures! And by the way, if you have any pictures of Texas wind farms that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to send them my way and I will get them posted.


Look at that farmland, look at that sky, look at those turbines! Ah, West Texas you are something else!

Until next time...

FAQs - We're making a list

Have you got a question about wind energy development? PERFECT, we've been wondering what questions you might have!

We're in the process of collecting questions so that we can provide a frequently asked questions list to those curious about wind energy development. Most of our members and potential members are landowners so the majority of the questions on the list will most likely reflect that fact, but we are willing to entertain any questions you may have. Are you curious about transmission expansion, royalties paid to landowners, who are the major players in wind development, what kind of due diligence has to be done before development, or something else? Our goal with this list is to cover all the bases of wind energy development and we'll use feedback to narrow the list down to those things that seems to be weighing most heavily on peoples' minds.

The second part of this task will be answering these questions. And once we get the list of questions together we'll be asking for your help to do that to. We are hoping to be as all inclusive as possible with these answers and would love to get your feedback on the questions list that we develop. So if you've been working in the wind industry and have some knowledge you would like to share, please check back for the FAQ list post and leave your input as a comment.

For the time being, please post your questions as a comment. We appreciate your help!

Until next time...

The More the Merrier - Exhibitors

We almost have 20 companies signed up to have exhibits at our upcoming expo and we have plenty room for more. I welcome comments or suggestions on companies that we should try and get out to the event; just give me your suggestion and, if I haven't already, I will contact those companies you suggest. If you are involved in the wind industry and would like to be involved you can sign up for free and you don't have to have a big fancy booth to participate. Just a table with information about your company and a representative to answer questions works great for us! Fax or email me a sign up form if you're interested.

Now, you are probably wondering why I'm telling you all this again if you read my last blog post: Free Like the Wind. Well, I wanted to give you an update on the companies that will be there. In addition to those listed last time:

• Sharyland Utilities
  
• Cross Texas Transmission
• Tri Global Energy
• Hill Country Wind Power
• Bureau Veritas
• Integra Wind Services
• AKL Wind Energy Scouting
• Class 4 Winds
• Plainview Chamber of Commerce
• Underwood Law Firm
• Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc.

The following companies will be represented:

• Floydada EDC
• P&K Wind Energy
• Anemometry Specialists
• Sage Oil Vac
• Texas Wind Energy Institute
• American Wind Capital
• Silver Creek Farms
• Alternative Energy Institute - WTAMU

If you have a someone you would like to see at the event please leave your suggestion as a comment. I will do my best to get them there. Hope to see you all on March 4th!

Until Next Time...

The Future of Agriculture

If you were a member of your high school's FFA chapter chances are you remember having to memorize the National FFA Creed. Its the first thought that I had when I starting working on this blog entry. I remember a good chunk of it, but I had to go and look it up to fill in some of the holes in my memory. It's been a long time since I have taken a real close look at the ole creed and looking back I must say that while I memorized the words in high school I don't think that I paid close enough attention to the meaning behind the words.

Looking back, the creed in general is very enlightening stating things like, "...the promise of better days through better ways..." and "...the ability of progressive agriculturalists to serve our own and the public interest..."

Little did I know back then how relevant those words would be to me. In high school I had never laid eyes on a wind turbine (yes, I had seen a wind mill, but not one of the modern day giant energy producers) and most definitely hadn't considered working in the industry. Today that is quite different. I have been at Caprock Plains Wind Energy Association for almost exactly a year now and continue to be intrigued by wind development and the opportunities that it offers to agriculture.

Wind energy development offers so much to landowners and farmers in rural areas who work so hard to make a living. For many farmers having wind development on their land simply means a supplemental income that allows them to keep doing what they have always done with their land. Wind development will in general only occupy 3 to 8 percent of the land. It means just as much to rural communities as well providing local jobs and increased tax bases.

While all of this is pretty new it seems like its offering a pretty bright future to agriculturists, but it's important to stop and wonder just what people are thinking about this and other trends happening in the agricultural industry. I recently received an invitation to participate in the planning process for a new research project. The purpose of the project is to find out what people's beliefs, opinions, and attitudes are towards current trends in the industry like wind development, water management and carbon sequestration. My role is going to be contributing questions we have for our target audiences so that the research can provide as much use to people throughout different areas of agriculture. I'm thinking general things like:

• Do you support wind energy development?
• If presented with the option would you lease your land out for wind energy development?
• Do you believe that wind energy is a viable electric generation option for the future?
• Have you been contacted by a wind energy developer? What was your opinion of them?
• What do you think wind energy development will mean for farming and ranching in your area?
• What are your concerns with having wind energy development on your land?

These are just a few that I came up with, but I wanted to open it up for suggestions. If you are curious about a specific topic concerning wind energy or the future of agriculture in general for your area please post it as a comment to the blog and I will take it with me to the planning session for this important new research project.

I believe in the future of agriculture and am optimistic about what the future brings. Until next time...