Second major Land Office wind lease in a year a prescription for America's addiction to oil
AUSTIN - Jerry Patterson, Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, this week announced details of the state's second offshore wind farm - a Texas-sized development off the coast of Padre Island National Seashore.
"I'm announcing one cure for America's addiction to oil," Patterson said. "This lease is the biggest in the country - what else would you expect from Texas? Anyone paying high energy costs understands the importance of what we're doing here today."
The multi-million dollar agreement - the second such lease in less than a year from the Land Office's "Texas wind rush" - grants Superior Renewable Energy rights to 39,900 acres of submerged lands in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the coast of Padre Island and south of Baffin Bay. The company plans to build a wind farm there that will generate up to 500 Mw of power - enough to satisfy a small city, or about 125,000 homes.
"When completed, this will be the biggest offshore wind farm in U.S. history," Patterson said. "It affirms the Lone Star State's position as the home for offshore wind energy in the United States. Like I said in 2003, the great Texas wind rush is on."
Superior Renewable Energy brings a wealth of industry experience to the project. The company is developing large-scale wind energy projects in New Mexico, South Dakota, California and Hawaii. John Calaway, Superior Renewable Energy's CEO, is a former Texas oil executive who founded Edge Petroleum Corporation before leaving the hydrocarbon business in 1999 to focus on renewable energy.
"The time for wind energy is now. As Texas leads the world into the next energy millennium, wind will be an inexhaustible source of power for Texans for generations to come," Calaway said. "Superior is ready to lead the way."
Superior is an independent renewable energy company formed in 2002 to engage in the development of large-scale wind power generation projects. Headquartered in Houston, the company is focused on using sophisticated data analysis to identify promising prospects for the development of wind power, solving complex wind development issues, and successfully executing the development of innovative wind projects.
LEASE DETAILS
The lease provides Superior Renewable Energy a 4-year period for research, after which the company will begin construction of enough turbines to produce a minimum of 250 Mw of electricity. Superior Renewable Energy has plans to expand the offshore wind farm to 500 Mw or more.
The lease provides Superior Renewable Energy a 4-year period for research, after which the company will begin construction of enough turbines to produce a minimum of 250 Mw of electricity. Superior Renewable Energy has plans to expand the offshore wind farm to 500 Mw or more.
Under the lease, Superior Renewable Energy is allowed to assess Texas coastal winds, develop a production plan and construct the wind farm - all with its own money.
MONEY FOR SCHOOLS
Every penny earned by the Land Office from this and every other lease is constitutionally dedicated to the Texas Permanent School Fund, which helps pay for public education in Texas. Traditionally, this fund has benefited from oil and gas revenue from state lands.
Every penny earned by the Land Office from this and every other lease is constitutionally dedicated to the Texas Permanent School Fund, which helps pay for public education in Texas. Traditionally, this fund has benefited from oil and gas revenue from state lands.
The General Land Office expects Texas schools to earn anywhere from $34 million to more than $100 million from the lease, depending on how many megawatts are produced and the future price of electricity. The lease is structured to encourage early production of energy and will provide yet another revenue stream for public schools.
"Texas has historically been dependent upon oil and gas." Patterson said. "But oil and gas won't last forever. It's vital that the Land Office finds new ways to earn money for the Permanent School Fund."
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS
Once completed, the offshore wind farm will be able to produce enough electricity to power about 125,000 homes.
Once completed, the offshore wind farm will be able to produce enough electricity to power about 125,000 homes.
In comparison, producing an equal amount of electricity would require about 69 million barrels of oil, or 43.5 billion pounds of coal over the 30-year term of the lease. If burned to create electricity, that much fossil fuel would release about 9 million pounds of sulfur dioxide, 4 million pounds of nitrogen oxide, and 1.8 billion pounds of carbon dioxide.
The wind farm will also conserve more than 30 billion gallons of fresh water over the lifetime of the lease that would have been used in the cooling system of a typical power plant.
Unlike oil and gas, wind energy is relatively immune to inflation and competitively priced, because there is no fuel cost to rise and fall. As technology advances and the generation of wind energy becomes more efficient, wind power will become an increasingly competitive option.
BIRDS
The Land Office's lease with Superior Renewable Energy addresses concerns voiced by various groups representing avian interests. The lease requires the company to engage an avian specialist with at least five years of experience in studying how wind turbines might affect the migration, movement and flight patterns of birds. It also sets forth a four-year research and analysis phase.
The Land Office's lease with Superior Renewable Energy addresses concerns voiced by various groups representing avian interests. The lease requires the company to engage an avian specialist with at least five years of experience in studying how wind turbines might affect the migration, movement and flight patterns of birds. It also sets forth a four-year research and analysis phase.
Superior Renewable Energy has already conducted avian research during three migratory seasons for a planned 300 Mw project on 10,000 acres leased from the Kenedy Memorial Foundation.
In the event an Environmental Impact Statement is not required, the company is obligated to follow pre and post construction mitigation strategies, if any, as set forth by the report provided by the avian specialist. The scope and content of the avian specialist's report must be approved by the Land Office.
TEXAS WIND RUSH
Since taking office in 2003, Patterson has made Texas the leader in U.S. wind power.
Since taking office in 2003, Patterson has made Texas the leader in U.S. wind power.
The Land Office has already earned more than $822,000 in royalties from the Delaware Mountains wind farm in West Texas. In 2005, the Land Office signed the nation's first lease for an offshore wind farm off the coast of Galveston that is expected to earn a minimum of $26.5 million. Work on that project is now under way by Galveston-Offshore Wind, a division of Louisiana-based Wind Energy Systems Technologies (W.E.S.T., LLC).
Efforts to develop offshore wind power in other states, like New York and Massachusetts, have become mired in congressional politics and bureaucratic tangles. Texas, with its unique sovereignty over coastal waters out to 10.36 miles in the Gulf of Mexico, avoids those troubles.
In 1836, after securing independence from Mexico, Texas claimed the offshore boundaries observed under Spanish, then Mexican rule. Sam Houston, president of the new republic, successfully maintained sovereignty over all submerged lands when Texas entered the Union in 1845.
Because of Houston's foresight, Texas offers a regulatory environment friendly to both investors and renewable energy pioneers like W.E.S.T., Superior Renewable Energy, and others.
Texas has other advantages for the development of offshore wind power. Coastal winds tend to rise during the day when the state's electrical generating capacity faces peak demand, therefore generating power when it's most needed ÿ and commands the highest price. The gentle slope of the continental shelf off the Texas Gulf Coast makes the development of offshore wind farms easy, and they can be built close to major markets, such as Houston, Corpus Christi, the Rio Grande Valley and the Golden Triangle. Running power lines from wind farm-to-power grid is relatively simple, and the Land Office oversees the granting of easements over submerged state lands.
Thanks to the state's deregulation of the energy market, it's easier to send power from offshore wind farms to the state's power grid.
Armed with valuable data collected during the research phases of the leases with Superior Renewable Energy and W.E.S.T., Patterson hopes to better market the Texas coast for wind energy development.
"After today, whenever Massachusetts, New York and California try to court wind energy developers, I think they'll find a sign on the door that says, 'Gone To Texas,'" Patterson said.