The Great Texas Wind Rush

$21,000 per green box

All that petrochemical industry infrastructure that becomes less useful by the day as American oilfields dry up may be helpful in transitioning to renewable energy resources. WEST, Wind Energy Systems Technology, just bid to operate off the Galveston coast using used oil rigs as floating barges for dozens of turbines. 8 miles off the beach, I sure hope you can't see them from the pier. Asked about the possibility that you may be able to spot them on the horizon in a Chron article HERE Texas 'Land' Commissioner Jerry Patterson (I hope tongue firmly in cheek but I doubt it) said "I don't think it looks all that bad."

Texas is now the largest producer of wind energy in the US, thanks mostly to wind fields in West Texas. The GOW, Galveston Offshore Wind project, will- according to the company's site- "...produce enough electricity to provide power to about 40,000 homes. By comparison, an equal amount of electricity would require about 20.7 million barrels of oil, or 6.5 tons of coal to produce. By not burning these fossil fuels to create this amount of energy, the wind farm will displace approximately 2.7 million tons of carbon dioxide each year. By comparison, it would necessitate planting nearly 150 square miles of forests to achieve the same goal." Lets go out and plant 150 square miles of forests just to be safe.