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Not a Change in Course

I hope some of you saw the news last month that Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, one of our two power suppliers, announced the purchase of a 70 MW wind facility west of Amarillo named the Golden Spread Panhandle Wind Ranch (GSPWR). We held the official groundbreaking on November 4 at the building site.

The Ranch will be, to the best of my knowledge, the only electric cooperatively owned wind power facility in Texas.

For some of us involved in the decision to make the purchase, it felt somewhat contradictory to our previous position on wind energy’s effectiveness as a power source for our members. But, when you look at the whole picture, it actually fits with what we have been saying all along.

Wind is not an acceptable source of capacity for our members needs. Capacity is the potential for generating power, and since we can’t control when the wind blows, we can’t control when the turbines generate power. When we are planning for that hottest summer day when air conditioning and irrigation loads are at their peak, we need guaranteed sources of power. That’s what we have with our new Antelope Power Station near Abernathy, it is a guaranteed source of power.

Our plan is to take all the “fuel free” energy that GSPWR can produce, and support the capacity needs with the quick start capability of the eighteen 9.4 MW units at Abernathy. Anytime the wind falls to levels where energy can’t be produced, we will bring on enough generation at Antelope to fill in the gap.

The combination of GSPWR and Antelope has the potential to provide our members with the least-cost energy available at any given time. Golden Spread has expanded their staffing in Amarillo to keep a constant vigil on the price of energy and capacity available at any hour of the day, and will turn to whatever source will result in the lowest cost.

Other factors played into the decision to buy the wind ranch. The actual cost of power for our members was the looming concern because of legislation on carbon output from our power production facilities. Since wind has no carbon output when generating energy it gives Golden Spread an “ace in the hole” if Congress decides to put carbon penalties into place in the future.

I stand by my position that wind generated electricity by itself is not a good option for our members’ energy and capacity needs. In order for wind to be considered useful, it must be coupled with a matching amount of dependable capacity. And that is exactly what Golden Spread has done with Antelope.

The world of electricity production and delivery is changing every day and it puts tremendous pressure on our power suppliers to anticipate legislation and power markets to make sure our members are never without the power required to carry out their daily routines—whether that be at home, work, or on the farm.

I am very proud of the teams at our wholesale power suppliers, Golden Spread and Brazos, who work diligently to make sure the power is available so the members of the Cooperative can enjoy the most dependable and affordable electric service possible.

Panhandle Wind Ranch is not a change in course for South Plains Electric Cooperative, but a necessary adjustment in delivering on our promise and commitment of affordable and dependable power to our members.