Texas Wind Power

     Before the mid 1850s, Texas settlements were solely dependent on water sources, and grew up mainly along riverbanks, creeks, springs and waterholes. Two mid century inventions would change the Texas landscape forever; windmills and barbed wire. First developed by inventor Daniel Halladay in Connecticut, wind driven pumps seem to sprout up all over the Texas prairie. Improved over time, production peaked in 1928, with nearly 100,000 windmills produced that year.
     Today a much different looking windmill is taking advantage of the persistent winds of West Texas. Here, just outside Vega, the internet giant Google announced a 200 million dollar investment in the Spinning Spur Wind Farm. Renewable energy, a buzzword of the 21st century, puts old technology to work on America's insatiable appetite for energy. Along with 80,000 water-pumping windmills, wind power farms have seen a massive investment since first introduced in the mid 90s. The 300 foot tall giants have a way of creating dramatic headlines, such as A good day to fly steel and A windfall for West Texas. Seemingly a good note, wind farms generated nearly 10 percent of the state's power last year. In some cases, the transmission lines would not handle peak capacity. Because of the rapid increase of wind farms, some critics argue that West Texas has over-built. While proponents say the wind energy craze has employed thousands, land owners see a constant stream of cash and the West Texas wind seldom disappoints.

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