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Texas Renewable Energy Incentives

Energy Policy Act of 2005 Tax Credits
Several articles on the Energy Policy Act of 2005 Tax Credits.

Organizations
Online Resources
Small Wind Systems
Software

Organizations

Renewable Energy Vendors & Services
SECO does not link directly to vendors, but you can visit the Texas Renewable Energy Industry Association web site and select the Search Our Members tab. There you can search by the type of renewable energy that interests you. You can also find vendor contact information on the Texas Solar Energy Society web site and select the Find Vendors link for their database of vendors who provide products or services related to renewable energy. Of course, when talking with a vendor, always be sure to ask for references.

DOE Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program
The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Energy Program works with industry to keep U. S. wind energy technology competitive in global markets. The program includes a comprehensive wind energy research program, wind turbine research and development, and support for utilities, industry, and international wind energy projects.

Wind Powering America
A DOE site with state wind maps, small wind consumer's guides, wind workshops, news articles, press releases, and fact sheets.

American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)
A national trade association that represents wind power plant developers, wind turbine manufacturers, utilities, consultants, insurers, financiers, researchers, and others involved in the wind industry. This site includes wind information and resources, energy policies and studies, workshops and events, news, publications and a members' directory. AWEA provides information specific to buying and installing a wind turbine in Texas.

The Wind Coalition
The Wind Coalition is a non-profit association formed to encourage the development of the vast wind energy resources of the south central United States.

West Texas Wind Energy Consortium
The consortium's purpose is to increase area economic development, education and job training.

AAS Degree for Wind Energy in Texas
Texas State Technical College (TSTC) West Texas Sweetwater campus has added to its curriculum a Wind Energy and Turbine Technology two year degree program developed by TSTC faculty in collaboration with program advisory group members of the wind industry, including Florida Power and Light (FPL), General Electric, and Texas Tech University. See this PFL Energy article.

Texas General Land Office (GLO): Sustainable Energy
The GLO identifies state lands that have potential for wind power development, calling attention to particularly suitable uplands tracts as well as examining future offshore potential. Wind power data is being collected and analyzed, under a grant from the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO), from several upland and offshore sites as part of the effort to further wind development and research in Texas.

Mapping and Monitoring Texas Wind Power
Through a grant from the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO), the Texas General Land Office has developed a network of several towers in a variety of locations on state lands around the state.

Lower Colorado River Authority: A Leader in Texas Wind Power
LCRA has supported the development of wind power from its beginning in Texas.

West Texas A & M Alternative Energy Institute
AEI is involved in research, development and design of renewable energy systems, classes, seminars, workshops, training programs, publications, and information dissemination. AEI offers two introductory courses, one for wind energy and one for solar energy.

Sandia National Laboratories Wind Energy Technology
A DOE laboratory that performs applied wind energy research.

National Wind Technology Center (NWTC)
NWTC works with the U.S. wind industry to improve wind turbine technology. The NWTC is the nation's only full-service wind turbine testing center and is operated by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), DOE's lead laboratory in wind technology research and development.

Windtricity
A City Public Service (San Antonio) web site. Windtricity is a voluntary renewable energy option for CPS customers to purchase electricity generated by wind-powered turbines in West Texas.

Wind Energy Portal
DOE's Office of Scientific and Technical Information web site provides a Subject Portal for Wind Energy. This subject-specific web sites provides full-text DOE scientific and technical reports, links to journal literature, and other information sources pertaining to Wind Energy.

Windustry
Windustry is a non-profit organization working to create an understanding of wind energy opportunities for rural economic benefit by providing technical support and creating tools for analysis.

National Wind Coordinating Collaborative
A consensus-based collaborative comprised of representatives from the utility, wind industry, environmental, consumer, regulatory, power marketer, agricultural, tribal, economic development, and state and federal government sectors interested in encouraging the prudent acceleration of wind power deployment in the United States. The site includes program announcements, meetings and events, publications, wind energy resources and information on RFPs and RFQ's.

Utility Wind Integration Group
Established in 1989 to provide a forum for the critical analysis of wind technology for utility applications and to serve as a source of credible information on the status of wind technology and deployment. The group's mission is to accelerate the appropriate integration of wind power for utility applications through the coordinated efforts and actions of its members, in collaboration with DOE and utility research organizations.

NASEO Wind Power Information
This National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) web page offers wind power information and an extensive list of links.

Danish Wind Industry Association
The Danish Wind Industry Association web site has extensive information about wind energy and technology, including a 28-minute video introducing wind technology.

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Online Resources

Distributed Generation in Texas
A Texas Public Utilities Commission web page with all the policies that are in place.

Texas Distributed Generation Interconnection Manual
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) prepared this manual to guide
the inclusion of distributed generation (DG) into the Texas electric system. It is intended for use by utility engineers processing distributed generation interconnection applications, as well as those considering the interconnection of distributed generation with a transmission and distribution utility. The manual includes a review of safety and technical requirements of DG installations; a copy of applicable rules, application procedures and forms; Texas utility contacts and equipment pre-certification requirements.

List of Distributed Generation Contact Persons in the Texas Utilities

Texas Wind Energy Projects
An online listing of current Texas wind projects produced by the American Wind Energy Association.

Texas Operational Wind Power Plants
Texas operational wind plants as of February 2006, produced by the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association.

Wind Power Outlook 2007

Making the Economic Case for Small-Scale Distributed Wind
A June 2007 National Renewable Energy Laboratory paper.

Connecting to the Grid Guide 2007
The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) has published a new edition of its Connecting to the Grid guide. The fifth edition of this guide, published in July 2007, addresses new and lingering interconnection issues that are relevant to all distributed generation technologies, including renewables, fuel cells, microturbines, and reciprocating engines. Because the interconnection of small distributed generators remains largely in the domain of states, the guide targets state regulators, other government officials, and utility representatives.

Looking for wind energy photos?
Go to this DOE site, PIX: The Photographic Information Exchange for an on-line collection of several thousand photos related to renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. All photos are free and for public use.

OffshoreWind.net
This web site has an interactive map of planned offshore wind farms in North America, and answers questions about offshore wind.

Mitigation Toolbox
The toolbox provides information on the effectiveness of various methods of avoiding, minimizing, or compensating for direct and indirect impacts on wildlife caused by wind power facilities and illustrates gaps and overlaps between existing policies or guidelines and current research.

Ask an Expert!
This DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Information Center answers questions on EERE's products, services, and technology programs, refers callers to the most appropriate EERE resources, and refers qualified callers to the appropriate expert networks.

Ten Steps to Building a Wind Farm
This is an AWEA fact sheet.

Wind Energy and U.S. Energy Subsidies
An American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) 2006 fact sheet.

Texas Renewable Energy Resource Assessment
This SECO-commissioned study evaluates Texas renewable energy resources, including solar, wind, biomass, water, geothermal and building climatology. The report includes numerous maps and charts.

Wind Task Force Report 2006
The Western Governors' Association's Clean and Diversified Energy Advisory Committee (CDEAC) commissioned this task force report in February 2005.

How Wind Turbines Work
A DOE web site.

Low Wind Speed Technology
The research goal of Low Wind Speed Technology is to reduce the cost of electricity from large wind systems in class 4 winds to 3 cents/kWh for onshore systems or 5 cents/kWh for offshore systems by 2007.

Utility Wind Integration
A Utility Wind Integration Group 2006 assessment on the integration of wind generation into utility power systems. The document focuses on wind's impacts on the operating costs of the non-wind portion of the power system and on wind's impacts on the system's electrical integrity.

Wind Energy for Rural Economic Development
This presentation made at AWEA's Windpower 2006 Conference covers wind turbine sizes and applications, the evolution of U.S. commercial wind technology, capacity and cost trends, world growth market, installed wind capacities, drivers for wind power, wind cost of energy, historic natural gas prices and Renewables Portfolio Standards.

Wind Energy Guide for County Commissioners
A DOE publication.

The Effect of Windmill Farms on Military Readiness
A U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) report detailing how wind turbines can interfere with military radar.

Wind Power Animation
This DOE wind power animation demonstrates how large and small wind turbines work and how they are used.

How does a Wind Turbine Work?
This DOE site includes an aerial view of a wind power plant, a glossary and a wind turbine animation.

Guided Tour on Wind Energy
Each one of the chapters in this Danish Wind Energy Association guided tour is a self-contained unit. Topics include turbine siting, energy output, generators, turbine design, manufacturing, and the history of wind energy.

Movie: Wind Farming
The movie features a visit to the largest wind farm in New York, Maple Ridge Wind Farm, a joint venture between Horizon Wind Energy and PPM Energy.

Wind Energy Careers
Career Currents provides educators and students with resources to introduce energy careers. Each issue of Career Currents focuses on a different sector of the energy industry. This October 2006 issue focuses on careers in the wind industry.

Wind Energy Glossary

The Economics of Wind Energy

If Not Wind, What?
This web site includes Wind Energy 101, Wind Energy Facts and Myths, Wind Energy and Wild Life, and a Research Center.

The Most Frequently Asked Questions About Wind Energy
An AWEA publication.

Wind Energy Myths
Analyzes the top ten myths about electricity generated from wind turbines, and provides answers based on studies from a variety of sources.

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Software

Wind Energy Finance: An Online Calculator for Economic Analysis of Wind Projects
A Wind Powering America web site. Wind Energy Finance (WEF) is a free online energy calculator, to enable quick, detailed economic evaluation of potential utility-scale wind energy projects. WEF should be used by anyone interested in evaluating the economics of potential utility scale wind energy projects. The tool is designed for those who have general experience with project financial analysis but little knowledge of wind projects. Read this WEF fact sheet and see the WEF online sign-in page (it may take awhile to download).

RETScreen International Wind Energy Project Model Software
Canada's free RETScreen International software can be used world-wide to easily evaluate the energy production, life-cycle costs and greenhouse gas emissions reduction for central-grid, isolated-grid and off-grid wind energy projects, ranging in size from large scale multi-turbine wind farms to small scale single-turbine wind-diesel hybrid systems. Version 3.0 upgrades include a Metric/Imperial unit switch; updated product data; an enhanced GHG model to account for emerging rules under the Kyoto Protocol; a Sensitivity & Risk Analysis worksheet; and the ability for users to now evaluate wind projects using wind power density data (in addition to wind speed data).

Jobs and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) Model
A Wind Powering America web site. Jedi is a free, user-friendly tool that calculates economic impacts from wind projects. It allows you to easily identify the local economic impacts associated with constructing and operating wind power plants. JEDI is for wind developers, renewable energy advocates, government officials, decision makers, and other potential users who might not have the resources to develop their own economic development model. It is designed to accommodate a broad user base with varying experience with economic development modeling. It accommodates inexperienced spreadsheet users, those unfamiliar with economic impact analysis, and more experienced and knowledgeable users who need this type of analysis.

Wind Energy Payback Period Workbook
A Wind Powering America web site. The Wind Energy Payback Workbook is a free Excel spreadsheet tool that can help you analyze the economics of a small wind electric system and decide whether wind energy will work for you.

Windustry's Wind Project Financial Calculator Tools

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