Chinese company enters Texas wind market

Fuel Fix:

China-based Goldwind, the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, is buying into Texas for the first time with its largest wind farm in the U.S.

Rapidly growing Goldwind just surpassed Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems as the world’s top wind turbine supplier, according to a new report Wednesday from Navigant Research. Other giants like Germany’s Siemens and General Electric ranked just behind.

Goldwind is growing specifically in Texas as well. The Chinese company said this week it bought the developing Rattlesnake Wind Project that’s 125 miles northwest of Austin from United Kingdom-based Renewable Energy Systems for an undisclosed sum. The McCulloch County wind farm in Texas will consist of 64 of Goldwind’s 2.5-megawatt wind turbines. A planned second phase will eventually double its size.

Texas for years has led the nation by far in wind power. After $7 billion in power lines through much of the Texas Panhandle came online in 2014 to connect wind farms to the state’s more populous regions, the wind industry in Texas has continued to surge. A recent extension in December of the federal production tax credit for wind projects is only expected to add more. Wind power is so bountiful in Texas that the state’s grid has routinely begun to see negative power prices during periods of strong wind overnight when there is little demand for power.
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Remember when Democrats were saying that investments in alternative energy would cut off foreign suppliers and create jobs in this country rather than China?  They have not been right about much when it comes to energy, from their theme of you can't drill your way to lower gas prices to jobs in the alternative energy business.

The Chinese company apparently sees the wind business in Texas as an opportunity to sell its windmills and create a revenue stream.  They should consider offshore wind  to serve coastal areas.