{"id":5476,"date":"2013-11-25T15:34:08","date_gmt":"2013-11-25T15:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=5476"},"modified":"2013-11-29T02:35:55","modified_gmt":"2013-11-29T02:35:55","slug":"fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Fueling Cities with West Texas Wind as CREZ Comes Online"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Marita<\/a>As we approach the end of 2013, Texas\u2019 power grid is soon to embark on a new clean energy path.\u00a0 While most people don\u2019t get too excited about electrical transmission and distribution lines, the much awaited Competitive Renewable Energy Zone<\/a> (CREZ) transmission project\u2013 set to come online in a few weeks and roll out through 2014 – could be the exception.<\/p>\n

Approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) in 2008, CREZ is a 3,600 mile transmission line that will connect remote West Texas wind energy to the eastern cities that need its power – 18,500 megawatts of power<\/a> to be exact. \u00a0This is enough power to energize 3.7 million to 7.4 million homes<\/a> and increase available wind power supply by a whopping 50 percent.<\/p>\n

Much like some other wind-rich regions<\/a> in the country, wind in the West and Panhandle regions of Texas was partially unused, or curtailed, because local communities could not use all of the available supply\u00a0 and the state\u2019s current, outmoded electric grid could not efficiently deliver the abundant energy to high-demand eastern cities. \u00a0This “congestion” bottleneck forced wind farms to lower prices and at times pay<\/i> the utilities to take their electricity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Jeff Clark, Executive Director of the Wind Coalition<\/a>, \u201cthere just isn\u2019t enough space on the lines, so it becomes a case of I undercut you and then you undercut me, and that\u2019s not competitive. \u2026 We lose about $500 million a year<\/a> in unsold power and power sold under price.\u201d<\/p>\n

Texas is already the nation\u2019s wind leader, but CREZ now enables Texas to provide three times as much available wind power as any other state and, ultimately, climb the global ranking<\/a> of leading wind energy producers. \u00a0One project in particular near Lubbock is a planned 1,100-megawatt wind farm that promises to be the country’s largest<\/a>\u00a0wind energy project.<\/p>\n

\"Source:<\/a>
Source: Cross Texas Transmission<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a testament to the success and future growth in Texas wind, the CREZ lines aren\u2019t even fully operational, yet grid operators are already reviewing 21,000 megawatts of new wind project proposals.\u00a0 Eager for these new lines, Pattern Energy Group broke ground on its new 218 megawatt Panhandle Wind Farm<\/a> in Carson County, putting roughly 200 people to work during the construction phase. \u00a0Once the wind farm is complete, it will generate enough power for about 60,000 homes and keep about a dozen people at work in permanent positions.<\/p>\n

Landowners and businesses are benefiting, too. \u00a0Through right-of-ways, developers constructed the electrical lines on private properties, sited close to roads and highways.\u00a0 Landowners were offered just compensation for the use of their land, all while maintaining ownership of the property. \u00a0For companies<\/a> looking to invest and grow in Texas, the CREZ investment provides reliability and assured, low electricity prices.<\/p>\n

The CREZ lines are also opening up right as the Department of Interior recently announced<\/a> their approval of the first major U.S. transmission project in decades. The 990-mile Gateway West Transmission Project will carry renewable energy – about 1.5 gigawatts \u00a0– from southern Wyoming to southern Idaho. Most of the energy will be from the many wind farms in the region, transmitting electricity to load centers from Utah to Washington State. This proves that the future of wind is promising not just for Texas but also for the entire US as well.<\/p>\n

Jeff Clark sums it up best, \u201cwhen we look back on the investment in CREZ, it will be one of the most visionary investments the state has ever made.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we approach the end of 2013, Texas\u2019 power grid is soon to embark on a new clean energy path.\u00a0 While most people don\u2019t get too excited about electrical transmission and distribution lines, the much awaited Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ) transmission project\u2013 set to come online in a few weeks and roll out through …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6408,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[177,181,27600],"tags":[53041],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-5476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-renewable-energy","category-texas","category-utilities","tag-crez"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFueling Cities with West Texas Wind as CREZ Comes Online - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fueling Cities with West Texas Wind as CREZ Comes Online - Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As we approach the end of 2013, Texas\u2019 power grid is soon to embark on a new clean energy path.\u00a0 While most people don\u2019t get too excited about electrical transmission and distribution lines, the much awaited Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ) transmission project\u2013 set to come online in a few weeks and roll out through ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-11-25T15:34:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-11-29T02:35:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/03\/Marita-Mirzatuny1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marita Mirzatuny\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marita Mirzatuny\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/25\\\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/25\\\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Marita Mirzatuny\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3b071de110935f765e83f238c7196151\"},\"headline\":\"Fueling Cities with West Texas Wind as CREZ Comes Online\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-25T15:34:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-11-29T02:35:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/25\\\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":590,\"commentCount\":2,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/25\\\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/Marita-Mirzatuny1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"CREZ\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Renewable Energy\",\"Texas\",\"Utility Business Models\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/25\\\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/25\\\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/25\\\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\\\/\",\"name\":\"Fueling Cities with West Texas Wind as CREZ Comes Online - Energy Exchange\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/25\\\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/25\\\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/Marita-Mirzatuny1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-25T15:34:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-11-29T02:35:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3b071de110935f765e83f238c7196151\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/25\\\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/25\\\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/25\\\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/Marita-Mirzatuny1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/Marita-Mirzatuny1.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/25\\\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Fueling Cities with West Texas Wind as CREZ Comes Online\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/\",\"name\":\"Energy Exchange\",\"description\":\"Accelerating the clean energy revolution\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3b071de110935f765e83f238c7196151\",\"name\":\"Marita Mirzatuny\",\"description\":\"Project Manager Marita is a project manager for EDF\u2019s US Climate and Energy Program, working on issues in Texas such as smart grid development, renewables, demand response, and policy involving the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.edf.org\\\/people\\\/marita-mirzatuny\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/author\\\/mmirzatuny\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Fueling Cities with West Texas Wind as CREZ Comes Online - Energy Exchange","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Fueling Cities with West Texas Wind as CREZ Comes Online - Energy Exchange","og_description":"As we approach the end of 2013, Texas\u2019 power grid is soon to embark on a new clean energy path.\u00a0 While most people don\u2019t get too excited about electrical transmission and distribution lines, the much awaited Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ) transmission project\u2013 set to come online in a few weeks and roll out through ...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/","og_site_name":"Energy Exchange","article_published_time":"2013-11-25T15:34:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-11-29T02:35:55+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/03\/Marita-Mirzatuny1.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Marita Mirzatuny","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Marita Mirzatuny","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/"},"author":{"name":"Marita Mirzatuny","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#\/schema\/person\/3b071de110935f765e83f238c7196151"},"headline":"Fueling Cities with West Texas Wind as CREZ Comes Online","datePublished":"2013-11-25T15:34:08+00:00","dateModified":"2013-11-29T02:35:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/"},"wordCount":590,"commentCount":2,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/03\/Marita-Mirzatuny1.jpg","keywords":["CREZ"],"articleSection":["Renewable Energy","Texas","Utility Business Models"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/","name":"Fueling Cities with West Texas Wind as CREZ Comes Online - Energy Exchange","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/03\/Marita-Mirzatuny1.jpg","datePublished":"2013-11-25T15:34:08+00:00","dateModified":"2013-11-29T02:35:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#\/schema\/person\/3b071de110935f765e83f238c7196151"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/03\/Marita-Mirzatuny1.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/03\/Marita-Mirzatuny1.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/11\/25\/fueling-cities-with-west-texas-wind-as-crez-comes-online\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fueling Cities with West Texas Wind as CREZ Comes Online"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/","name":"Energy Exchange","description":"Accelerating the clean energy revolution","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#\/schema\/person\/3b071de110935f765e83f238c7196151","name":"Marita Mirzatuny","description":"Project Manager Marita is a project manager for EDF\u2019s US Climate and Energy Program, working on issues in Texas such as smart grid development, renewables, demand response, and policy involving the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.edf.org\/people\/marita-mirzatuny"],"url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/author\/mmirzatuny\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6408"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5476\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5476"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=5476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}