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South Padre Island Wind Farm
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South Padre Island Wind Farm
The Texas General Land Office is planning a 34 sq mile Wind Farm just north of South Padre Island.
On Oct. 2, the GLO will seek bids for the nation’s first competitive lease sale for rights to develop offshore wind farms — including the rights to develop 19,628 acres northeast of the town of South Padre Island.
 The southern end of the lease would start approximately 8 miles northeast of the SPI Convention Centre and about 5 miles east of Park Road 100. The lease would then stretch northward to include approximately 30.6 square miles, nearly the size of Harlingen’s approximately 34 square miles.
Once constructed, the wind farm may be visible from parts of South Padre Island.
“That’s possible,” GLO press secretary Jim Suydam said. “It depends on how tall the developers were to build the turbines.”
The lease will not have restrictions on turbine height or density, he said.
The South Padre Island tract will be the second largest of four Texas offshore wind farm leases offered during the GLO sale. Other sites are off of Calhoun, Brazoria and Jefferson Counties. Combined, the four sites total more than 73,000 acres.
Developers who win the competitive bid for the leases would next need state and federal permits before constructing the turbines. Leases for the four sites were requested by Wind Energy Systems Technologies, a corporation that is developing the state’s first offshore wind farm near Galveston, Suydam said.
WEST is testing its Galveston wind farm for optimal wind speeds and expects to have the first turbines erected there by 2009, Suydam said. “(WEST) said they would like the rights to build wind farms on these four tracts,” Suydam said, adding they paid the GLO $12,000 to nominate the sites for sale.
Rather than direct negotiations with WEST, the GLO will offer the leases through a competitive bidding process similar to the protocol used for the sale of oil and natural gas leases, Suydam said.
“The future of our nation’s offshore wind industry is off the Texas Gulf Coast,” GLO Commissioner Jerry Patterson said. “There’s international interest in these tracts, and this will be the first time the market will be able to place a value on what I think is a very valuable asset.”
Texas schools earn millions on wind generated on state land, depending on how many megawatts are produced and the current price of electricity. The increase in wind farms will benefit Texas schools, because like oil and gas production on state lands, wind farms on state lands are required to pay land usage fees plus a portion of revenues to the State's Permanent School Fund, which is constitutionally dedicated to the schoolchildren of Texas.
Money from the leases will add money to public education through Texas’ Permanent School Fund, Suydam said. “All of the money the state earns off energy leases goes directly to the Permanent School Fund, and that’s a $26 billion trust fund that the State Legislature votes each year to decide how much to take out,” Suydam said. “They take out about $800 million each year, and our job is to put money into that fund.”
From only one wind farm located on state land in West Texas (Texas Wind Power Project), the Permanent School Fund has earned more than $750,000 since installation in 1995. The project is expected to earn more than $3 million for state schools and create $300 million in increased economic activity over the 25-year lease period.
The GLO could not provide financial projections for income that might come through the offshore leases. However, GLO bidding instructions stated that the minimum annual fee would be $20,000 per lease tract until the production commencement date. And the GLO would take a minimum of 3.5 percent of gross revenue from the tracts for the first eight years. Those percentages would increase in later years.
“It will be more money than we’re earning now, because we’re not making any off that land,” Suydam said. Developing offshore wind farms is a “major initiative” of Patterson, Suydam said. “Oil and gas are resources that can be depleted,” Suydam said. “Commissioner Patterson thinks it’s important that we began now to develop renewable revenue resources for the Permanent School Fund.”
The state is leading the nation in onshore wind production and houses several wind-related research bodies that are world-leaders in their fields. While this energy is produced by land-based wind farms, the combination of industry and intellectual capital already present in Texas puts the state in an excellent position to develop the next phase of wind energy: offshore wind.
Texas has approximately 367 miles of Gulf coast with sovereignty to 10 miles offshore, Suydam said. “We have always leased oil and gas on every bit of that,” Suydam said. “We intend to utilize that resource for energy, not just oil and gas.”
In the future, the GLO would consider additional wind farm leases — even directly offshore from coastal communities such as South Padre Island. “We have the whole coast,” Suydam said. “People live along the entire coast.”
Environmental advocates said they had some concerns about a large-scale wind farm springing up off the South Padre Island coastline, but said it was too soon to know how great the impact would be.
“We always have concern about anything that would affect birds,” said John Wallace, manager of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, which owns 23,000 acres of protected land on South Padre Island. “But it’s hard to know without a design … we don’t know if (the farm) would be in the flyway.”
Wallace said that several species of birds flock to the refuge land on South Padre Island, which lies north of the town’s developed areas. Peregrine falcons stop there while migrating, and tropical birds rely on the island as a “fallout area” on their long migration from South and Central America, he said. “It’s the first bit of land they see, and so they drop out of the sky and land until they can catch their breath there,” Wallace said.
The bigger worry for some environmental advocates is a proposed wind farm in Kenedy County, rather than a possible offshore farm off of Cameron County, they said. “We don’t know precisely where it will be located, so we’re not nearly as concerned as we are about Kenedy County, where we know the farm is in the migratory flyway,” said Walt Kittelberger, president of the Lower Laguna Madre Foundation. “We’ll have to see where it would be.”
Despite the call for bids, Kittelberger said he doubts that an offshore wind project will be coming to Cameron County anytime soon. “Offshore farms tend to have such high maintenance costs that companies decide not to build them anyway,” he said. “Maybe it will happen somewhere down the road.”
In 2006, the GLO announced plans for the biggest offshore wind farm in U.S. history to be built off the coast of Padre Island National Seashore in Willacy County. The company that bought that lease, Superior Renewable Energy, was later bought by Australian corporation Babcock & Brown. Suydam said the acquisition ended plans to develop that offshore wind farm.
A company spokesman said in June that they nixed plans for construction of the wind farm near Padre Island because the project was too expensive.
“(The construction of wind farms) is certainly worth it. All the actual scientific studies that we have seen show that bird impact from large wind turbines is minimal,” Suydam said. “House cats, power lines, tall buildings, all of these things kill huge numbers of birds compared to the number killed by turbines.”
From an article By RYAN HENRY and MELISSA McEVER
Valley Freedom Newspapers
Texas Holds Strong Potential For Offshore Wind Power
Leaders in the field of wind energy from industry and from the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering laid out the viability and importance of developing this renewable resource in the State of Texas during a presentation yesterday at the Texas Society of Professional Engineers Annual Meeting.
 Representing the college were Raymond Flumerfelt, Elizabeth D. Rockwell Dean and professor of chemical engineering; Su Su Wang, Distinguished University Professor of Mechanical Engineering; and Michael Pao, adjunct professor of mechanical engineering and CEO of Enhancement Partners. The industry leaders on the panel were Daniel King, vice president of wind development for DKRW Energy; and Herman Schellstede, a partner in Wind Energy Systems Technology.
Texas, the panel pointed out, is already a major player in wind energy. The state is leading the nation in onshore wind production and houses several wind-related research bodies that are world-leaders in their fields.
While this energy is produced by land-based wind farms, the panel stressed that the combination of industry and intellectual capital already present in Texas puts the state in an excellent position to develop the next phase of wind energy: offshore wind.
Wind Energy Systems Technology, a wind energy development company out of Louisiana, is currently collecting data from test stations off the coast of Galveston that will be used to help erect the first offshore wind farm in the United States. According to Schellstede, the information gathered to this point shows the state’s Gulf Coast is an excellent location for these farms. In this region, the best wind for generating energy blows mid-day, when electricity demand is the highest. As a result, the electricity produced from wind farms off the Texas coast will be highly valued by utility companies.
“We’ve hired an outside consultant to do the wind assessment," he said. "What’s beautiful about this is that it’s not just the wind we’re studying: it’s the temperature, wave height, barometric pressure…within six months from now we should have ample data that says we do have the possibility of producing power at a high level near Galveston.”
In addition to having high-quality wind off the Texas Gulf Coast, the state’s regulatory environment should make the technology’s development and deployment simple in comparison to other regions of the country. In terms of utilizing natural resources, most states have jurisdiction only about three-and-one-half miles offshore, beyond which control moves to the federal government. Texas, however, controls more than 10 miles into the Gulf of Mexico, simplifying the process of obtaining the rights to build and operate offshore wind farms.
This process should be made even easier since the development of offshore wind farms has the support of Texas Governor Rick Perry and the General Land Office, which manages the coastline. “The Texas government has been excellent in providing a method in which we could fulfill our obligations to go offshore,” said Schellstede.
The state's leadership has also been a strong backer of The Lone Star Wind Alliance, a coalition of universities, businesses and governmental bodies (including the General Land Office) that is seeking to develop the country’s first facility for testing large offshore wind turbines. The alliance, led by the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering, is one of two finalists for the Department of Energy facility.
According to UH’s Wang, building an offshore wind turbine testing facility on the Texas Gulf Coast should bring even more economic development and intellectual capital to the region. Combining these with the business and research resources already present in the state would help accelerate the growth and economic viability of wind-generated power, he said.
“To develop the wind energy industry, to make it profitable, we need to bring the brain trust and industry to the area,” he said.
The Department of Energy is expected to announce winning partner for this new facility within the next few weeks.
By Toby Weber, Engineering Communications
Wind Farms on the Texas Coast
Several proposed wind farms to be located on the Texas coast have drawn scrutiny from the environmental community. Ironically, despite the potential of wind power as a green energy resource, the turbines may create a deadly trap for migratory birds.
The wind farm proposed offshore from Galveston will be located in the primary migration pathway for nearctic-neotropical birds. Another wind farm proposed for the Kenedy Ranch on the central Texas coast will also lie in a critical migration pathway.
Recent developments in California may set a precedent for wind farms in the future. Half of the aging turbines at Altamont Pass east of San Francisco will be shut down for four months during bird migration in response to threat of a legal suit by environmentalists. The Altamont wind farm has long been known as a killer of large numbers of birds.
A 2004 report by the California Energy Commission found that over a thousand raptors are killed each year at Altamont, including a number of Golden Eagles. The environmentalists are not opposed to wind energy but believe that they should be located in less sensitive areas.
Jeff Miller of the Center for Biological Diversity stated that they must be built in areas where they will have minimal impact on wildlife. "We definitely support wind power, but it needs to be sited in appropriate areas."
Which brings us back to the Texas coast. While we do know that this area is the primary flyway for migrants, there are no studies to measure the impacts of wind turbines on migratory passerines. Several ideas have been put forth, but the science is still in its infancy.
With the California agreement as a precedent, The Gulf Coast Bird Observatory will join the community of concerned citizens to hopefully ensure that the proposed wind farms come with the necessary provisions to protect migratory birds.
Wind Energy Links:
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| Comments | |
ByBradJ @
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 2:06 PM | |
This could destroy land values up North. Who wants to build a resort or house with a view of a thousand fans?
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MigMike @
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 8:33 PM | |
The decrease in expansion if the previous post is correct, would offer a nice benefit to exsisting homes. Sounds like it would set a nice "line in the sand" and increase demand in the future. |
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By
Finley @
Wednesday, September 26, 2007 3:02 PM | |
First of all, I think that "thousands of fans" is a bit of an exaggeration. Secondly, if they are located SIX MILES OFFSHORE, you may see them or you may not. If you do see a bit of them, so what. Charter some boats and offer some paid tours to get out there and see them up close and personal. I would buy a ticket. Oil rigs visable from off-shore have not seemed to slow down development. Welcome to the new millennium. Personally, I think it would be pretty cool. Wouldn't it be nice to tell your children/grandchildren that we have actually implemented new and efficient supplies of clean renewable energy sources instead of just talking about it. Thirdly, all this "not in my backyard" BS mentality could end right here. All the blowhard east-coast liberal senators and the whinning tree huggers can send their "fans" here. We'll take the tax revenue from the extra "fans" too. Welcome to the new millennium. |
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Ken T. @
Thursday, September 27, 2007 11:56 AM | |
Yep, the world is not flat :) simple ratio of height vs distance off shore as to rather or not they will be see. And your right, what if you can see the tops slowly spinning in the wind. The valley needs more technology jobs. |
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By
Finley @
Friday, September 28, 2007 2:05 PM | |
Ken, you are absolutely right. The Valley does need more high paying technology jobs. The government cannot supply them and we should not expect them to. The cost of each one of these turbine generators, built with private funds, not government funds is considerable... I would say that this translates to greater confidence by institutional investors in the Valley economy as a whole. Investor confidence is what will bolster our land values and develop for us a better quality of life. After all we are not talking about an offshore toxic waste dump, but rather the clean hi-tech production of a natural renewable energy source. Hence, another sparkeling gem could be added to a chest full of treasues that the Rio Grande Valley has to offer it's residents. |
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ByEnergy News @
Monday, October 01, 2007 9:48 PM | |
See a series of videos on wind power at http://www.nextenergynews.com/windpower/ |
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By
Stuart @
Thursday, October 18, 2007 9:24 PM |
The Public Utility Commission blocked conservationists' attempts to present concerns about proposed Gulf Coast wind farms' impact on migratory birds.
The environmental groups want to intervene in a company's application for a 21-mile transmission line that would run through Kenedy Ranch in South Texas. It would bring power from wind turbines planned along the Gulf Coast.
A group working to preserve the coast, the Coastal Habitat Alliance, said the power lines would cross a major flyway.
In a divided decision, Commissioners Julie Caruthers Parsley and Barry Smitherman on Wednesday said the group couldn't intervene because no members own land within 500 feet of the route for the wires.
No permit is required to put up the turbines, but the commission still regulates the placement of transmission lines.
The PUC is still reviewing the transmission line application, agency spokesman Terry Hadley said. |
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By
Ariel P. King @
Friday, October 19, 2007 6:08 PM | |
I love the idea of utilizing a natural resource, but am terrified of what the turbines could do to the bird migration. The Valley is becoming so developed that these areas being proposed for the turbines, are the only areas left for natural environments. Personally, I believe that's makes Texas so great. All our national and state parks are going to lose their best birding views because of the proposed wall. And bird populations across the board are already down between 50-75%. Migrating birds, that rely on stars to find their paths, are confused by city lights and will funnel directly into the path of these turbines. We have to have the research. |
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