I Was Wrong

I've always maintained there was not one good redeeming reason for wind energy.

I was wrong.

Texas found one good redeeming reason for wind energy. Reuters is reporting:

High-voltage transmission lines being built to carry electricity from wind farms in West Texas to the state's major cities are instead helping power the boom in oil exploration and production in the Permian Basin, according to a company serving the region.

Owing to the use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling to unlock oil and natural gas resources, electric demand in the prolific Permian Basin - which stretches from West Texas into New Mexico - has been growing 5 to 6 percent a year, said officials with Oncor, the Dallas-based transmission company that serves much of the Texas Permian.

That's more than twice the growth rate for electricity seen across Oncor's north Texas system that includes Dallas and Fort Worth, said Jim Greer, Oncor's chief operating officer.