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February 19, 2007

Transmission Loop to Bring 4,200 MW of Wind Energy to Texas

Dublin, Ireland [RenewableEnergyAccess.com]

A consortia backed by Airtricity has committed to the construction of a 345-kilovolt (kV) transmission 'loop' in the Texas Panhandle Plains region: The $1.5 billion 'Panhandle Loop' will be a 800-mile 'looped' transmission project bringing 4,200 megawatt (MW) of wind energy to more than one million homes.

"The Panhandle Loop project is like constructing a power station greater than the entire generation for Ireland and building it by 2010,"

-- Eddie O'Connor, Airtricity, Chief Executive

In addition to wind energy, the loop will result in the investment of over $10 billion in new generating capacity, including 2,000 MW of gas-fired power and 1,800 MW of coal-fired power.

The proposal for the three interconnected transmission lines extending from three separate loops on the grid has been filed with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and, once approved, all parties are committed to moving it forward with a goal of project completion as early as late 2010.

The consortia behind the Panhandle Loop include Airtricity, Inc.; Babcock & Brown Renewable Holdings Inc; Celanese, Ltd.; Occidental Energy Ventures Corp.; and Sharyland Utilities, L.P.

"The Panhandle Loop project is like constructing a power station greater than the entire generation for Ireland and building it by 2010," said Airtricity's Chief Executive, Eddie O'Connor.

Airtricity, an integrated utility that generates and supplies green electricity, currently supplies renewable electricity to more than 35,000 commercial customers in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is actively developing wind farms onshore and offshore throughout Europe (Ireland, United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands), the U.S. and Canada, and has wind farms operating across Ireland and in Scotland at Ardrossan.
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Add Your Comment 2 Reader Comments
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February 19, 2007
If there is plenty of wind in the Panhandle Plains region, then an 800 mile loop should bring in good power revenues. It appears to be a good economic venture and should result in further industrialization of the wind industry.

If excess power could be stored and used later to cut down on intermittancy, this would also be good. However, since the loop covers such vast territory, it may be that this problem may not be so great as we imagine.

adrianakau@aol.com
No image available
February 21, 2007
It may be noted that the capacity of the gas and coal plants that are part of the plan is 90% of the capacity of the wind plant -- exactly the amount of new conventional capacity that grid manager Eon Netz in Germany has said to be necessary when adding wind.
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