Duke Energy Announces Wind Farm for Willacy County in Texas

Duke Energy has announced its intention to build a large-scale wind farm in Willacy County.

When the 200-megawatt facility comes online, it will generate enough electricity to power roughly 60,000 homes.

Duke Energy’s Los Vientos I wind power project, roughly 20 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico, will sell its electricity to San Antonio-based CPS Energy, the nation’s largest municipally owned energy utility.

Duke Energy Renewables will start construction later this year and bring the project online by December 2012, The Brownsville Herald reported.

Willacy County Precinct 1 Commissioner Eliberto "Beto" Guerra called the wind farm a "win-win" for the county, commenting that taxes from the wind farm will benefit local school districts and create jobs.

Walter Kittelberger, co-founder of the Lower Laguna Madre Foundation, said that wind farms have a bigger footprint than natural gas, which he said was the best energy alternative for Texas, commenting, "Wind turbines are very destructive to surrounding habitats. They are not a good idea for America."

Duke Energy spokesman Greg Efthimiou said, “The wind resource in the area is terrific. The wind blows strongest and most consistently during peak demand during the day, particularly in the afternoon when people are coming home and turning on their TVs and turning on their ovens. The wind is blowing pretty strong.”

By. Joao Peixe, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com