Windmills at Sunset (photo by Dan Tombs, courtesy of morguefile.com)

Once the capital of North American oil production, Texas is now the leading the way for energy produced by wind power, generating enough energy from the wind to power 1 million homes.

Even billionaire oilman Boone Pickens has become a fan of the alternative energy. An article in the New York Times quotes Mr. Pickens as saying, “I have the same feelings about wind as I had about the best oil field I ever found.” He is planning to build the world’s largest wind farm, which will require an investment of $10 billion.

Wind power now produces about 1% of the electricity used in the United States; enough to power 4.5 million homes. The wind farm planned by Mr. Pickens will be capable of powering a small city by itself.

Besides producing clean and renewable energy, the wind farms are also fueling sustainable economic development. The New York Times article explained, "Teenagers who used to flee small towns like Sweetwater after high school are sticking around to take technical courses in local junior colleges and then work on wind farms. Marginal ranches and cotton farms are worth more with wind turbines on them."

If you’d like to read the New York Times article cited above go to: Move Over, Oil, There’s Money in Texas Wind

To view previous posts on the topic go to:
1. Suburban Homeowners Turn to Wind Power
2. Greening the Rust Belt
3. An Ancient Idea