Texas Blows By California to Lead in Wind Power
Once home to America’s largest concentration of pump-jacks and oil derricks, Texas is now the best region in the country to install wind turbines. According to a new report by the Global Wind Energy Council, at 4,356-megawatts (MW), the Lone Star State has nearly twice the wind power capacity of nearest rival California (2,439 MW).
West Texas in particular has seen the most growth. Experts point to almost constant wind, flat range land and an extensive network of high voltage lines as the main catalysts. In the last 120 days alone, new West Texas wind power projects worth more than half a billion dollars have been announced.
NRG Energy said it will build Elbow Creek, a 122 MW wind project near Big Spring. Calyon Securities analyst Gordon Howald upgraded NRG Energy and lifted his price target to $54.
NACEL Energy (BULLETIN BOARD: NCEN) unveiled two West Texas wind farms totaling 40 MW — Blue Creek located north of Amarillo and Channing Flats in Moore County. NACEL is one of the only pure wind power generators in the country and went public last December. CNBC guest analyst and IPO expert Francis Gaskins has a $4 target on NACEL.
Arlington, VA based AES announced it would expand Buffalo Gap, its West Texas wind facility, by 170 MW. When complete, Buffalo Gap will rank in the top 5 largest wind farms in the U.S. Analysts at Ladenburg Thalmann rated AES a buy on April 5th.
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