April 16, 2008 9:00 AM ET

Mesa Power invests $2 billion in wind power.

The Wall Street Journal (5/16, B4) reports that "Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens's Mesa Power LLP placed the biggest-ever single-site order for wind turbines with General Electric Co. (GE)." This is "the latest sign of growing momentum behind clean-energy initiatives despite lingering uncertainty over government support. Mesa will purchase 667 GE 1.5 megawatt wind turbines, as part of the $2 billion first phase of the biggest wind farm in the U.S." The turbines, which are "scheduled for delivery in 2010 and 2011, are expected to provide the first 1,000 megawatts of Mesa's proposed 4,000 megawatt Pampa Wind Project in Texas."
The AP (5/16, Singer) calls Pickens's plan "a mammoth wind farm in the Texas Panhandle." The Pampa Wind Project "will eventually cover 400,000 acres and generate enough power for more than 1.3 million homes," and Pickens said, "We are making Pampa the wind capital of the world." The AP notes, "Wind farms and other alternative fuels are gaining more interest as the cost of oil keeps breaking records."
Reuters (5/16, Daily, O'Grady) points out that the "Texas Panhandle is not connected to the electric grid that serves Texas' largest cities," which means that "new transmission lines will have to be built to allow power to flow to electric-consuming areas. Mesa has already filed a letter with the Texas grid operator indicating it plans to connect the first 1,000 megawatts with the Texas network."
"Abundant wind, open land, federal tax credits and rising electricity prices have made Texas the largest U.S. producer of electricity from wind," according Bloomberg (5/16).
Texas's San Antonio Express-News (5/16, Schreck) describes Pickens as a "maverick oilman," emphasizing that he "made the early part of his fortune hunting for oil and natural gas," but now is saying that "developing alternative energy projects is critical for the nation's future." Thomson Financial (5/16) also covers the story.

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