Winds of uncertainty still blowing through Texas turbines

The wind turbines that dot parts of rural Texas will be around for years. But the days of new wind farms popping up seemingly overnight appear to be slowing down,We offer a type of dry cabinet that one might need for the proper dehumidifying of components. if not coming to an end.Our most compact solar charger yet fits easily in any bag. 

While Congress has approved an extension of the production tax credit on wind farms, which helped propel Texas to be the nation's leader in wind energy, there are doubts about whether it will lead to another building boom. 

Many wind farm developers are waiting for a clear definition from the Treasury Department on what starting construction by the end of 2013 actually means before committing to new projects. In Texas, low natural gas prices are also making it more difficult to finance new wind farms.We provide excellent solar led light and LED solar garden lamp. 

"The PTC [production tax credit] is helping projects that are ready to go, that are shovel-ready, but the thing that is hurting the industry is really low gas prices that make it fairly hard to obtain financing," said Jimmy Horn of Horn Wind Energy,LED emergency light for outdoor solar lighting and power. which developed a wind farm in Archer County, south of Wichita Falls, and has two more in the planning stages in Archer and Clay counties. 

One wind farm scheduled to go forward this year is Texas billionaire Boone Pickens' BP Capital 377 megawatt wind farm in Lynn County, south of Lubbock, which will include 222 turbines, said Cole Robertson, a BP Capital Analyst. 

It is BP Capital's only new wind farm planned for the U.S; the other projects on the drawing board are slated to be built in Canada. 

"Living year-to-year by the PTC extension is no good for the industry," Robertson said. "We either need a long-term phase-out so people can plan for it or some certainty with the PTC so we aren't going year-to-year." 

The tax credit works by giving wind farm owners 2.2 cents for every kilowatt-hour of power they produce for 10 years. Extending the tax credit by one year is projected to cost the federal government about $12.1 billion, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. 

The uncertainty of the tax credit also took it toll on U.S. manufacturing of wind turbine components that some officials say won't return anytime soon.A laser engraving machinecan be thought of as three main parts: a laser, a controller, and a surface. 

At least 37 Texas facilities manufacture components for the wind industry, according to the American Wind Energy Association. In the third quarter of 2012, AWEA said there were about 6,000-7,000 direct or indirect Texas jobs tied to the wind industry. But there were layoffs and shifting of jobs last year as orders dried up. 

Last year, Trinity Structural Towers, which has a plant in Fort Worth that built 260-foot towers in the past, said it would shift resources away from wind turbine tower manufacturing. A spokeswoman with Trinity's parent Company, Trinity Industries, declined to comment. 

Another manufacturer with a presence in Texas believes the wind industry will rebound this year. Richard Morrison, president and CEO of Molded Fiberglass Companies, said the number of employees at its Gainesville plant, which manufactures blades and also conducts prototype work, has dropped to 100 from a peak of 300. 

"It will take some time for projects that have been on hold to ramp back up," Morrison said. "There is a lead time of nine to 15 months. But we believe the extension of the PTC is important to the industry and important to America." 

Morrison said Molded Fiberglass, which has 11 factories across the U.S. and one in Mexico, also would like to see Congress approve a gradual reduction of incentives to end the industry's boom-bust mentality. 

"If you have a six-year phase-out, that's enough time to reduce your costs and say this is a serious business and companies will invest in it," Morrison said.