Most observers agree that the biggest factor limiting the development of the wind power industry in North Dakota is lack of transmission infrastructure. Texas, the country's leading producer of wind power, has recently been grappling with the same issue as the pace of wind power development has outstripped the state's capacity to send the power to areas where its needed.
To address the dilemma, the Texas Public Utilities Commission this week issued rights to nine companies to build $5 billion worth of new transmission lines. The move is part of the state's Competitive Renewable Energy Zone project, designed to promote renewable energy investment.
According to an article on DallasNews.com, the power line project varies from the traditional approach, where utilities own and operate the lines in the regions where they are based and expand transmission capacity as needed. For this project, the Texas PUC established the power line needs and opened the project up for bids.
The total output of wind power projects in Texas is 8,005 megawatts.
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