(Simone Sebastian/Fuel Fix)
BP and other energy companies are funneling millions into building and operating wind farms in West Texas, helping to transform oil country into one of the nation’s leading hubs for green energy production.
Skylines dominated by nodding pump jacks are increasingly spotted with spinning turbines. Economies tied to the ebb and flow of commodity prices are finding stability in supplying the power grid.
“We’ve been through lots of booms and busts with the oil and gas industry. The oil and gas areas deplete over time,” said Doug May, economic development director for Pecos County in West Texas. “The wind resource here is sustainable. We look at these wind farms as a long-term investment in the future of Pecos County.”
Recent energy analyses have forecast that renewable fuels – including wind, solar and biofuels – will be the world’s fastest growing energy source in coming decades. BP’s own outlook predicts that the country’s renewable energy production will surge 252 percent over the next 20 years. (Read more at Fuel Fix)
OTHER HEADLINES:
- Environmental Damages Remain Issue After BP Deal (Houston Chronicle)
- Community Offers Donations After Thief Steals Girl Scouts’ Cookie Money (KHOU 11 News)
- Car Sharing Service Relay Rides Expands To Houston, Rest Of Nation (KUHF Public Radio)
- Paralyzed Houstonian Ready to Conquer Warrior Dash (KHOU 11 News)
- Black Students Face More Discipline, Data Suggests (New York Times)
OPINIONS OF NOTE:
- Patricia Kilday Hart: UH Professor, Family Building a Personal Scaffold to Tier One (Houston Chronicle)
The Ramos family’s residence at Cougar Village is one element of a transformational initiative at the University of Houston intended to create a university culture worthy of a Tier One national research institution.
- David Brooks: The Rediscovery of Character (New York Times)
The obituaries for James Q. Wilson, the eminent social scientist, generally emphasized his “broken windows” theory on how to reduce crime. That’s natural. This strategy, which contributed to the recent reduction in crime rates, was his most tangible legacy. But broken windows was only a small piece of what he contributed, and he did not consider it the center of his work.