Evolution of wind

In reverse, it's easy to see the evolution of a wind turbine after passing through security at Duke Energy's new wind farm near the Winkler-Ector county line.

To the right, are segments of towers, laid out on the ground. Workers use brushes and high-pressure sprayers to clean off the dust brought by the very West Texas wind that brought them here.

Nearby are large cranes, ready to lift the segments into the sky. Within days, the towers will be looking over the Caprock.

Moving down to the less-developed of the soon-to-be 55 wind turbine sites, a base sticks out of the ground, with threads sticking out for the towers to be bolted onto.

Further down, a concrete foundation uncovered by heavily compacted dirt is visible. It'll soon hold one of the massive towers to the ground. Gary Vest, economic development director for the Odessa Chamber of Commerce, said each turbine's base contains 350 cubic yards of concrete and hundreds of pounds of steel rebar.

"It has to be that much to keep them from tumping over," Vest said.

Beyond that, are 8-foot-deep holes, each 40-by-40 feet wide. At the bottom of the hole is a 2-inch-thick "mud pad," which the concrete base will be built on.

After driving a few miles down the caliche road, there's some holes still being dug by backhoes. But, since this project just started July 7, it probably won't be long until towers are being placed here too.

"I'm just amazed at how much progress they've made so far," Vest said.

Allan Cowan of Key Enterprises Inc., which is producing rock for the turbines' concrete foundations, said the whole wind farm should be operational in around six months.

If everything goes well, Cowan said a second phase could bring an additional 40 turbines.

And once the turbines are up, Cowan, whose Odessa company has previously worked on six Texas wind farms, said other companies will likely follow with more wind farms.

And, as he's learned from the projects he's worked on in the Abilene area, big bucks will come to the area with them.

"I just can't stress enough the economic shot in the arm with these things," he said. "You ought to see Abilene. Every motel is full. You have to wait in line at Cracker Barrel after 10 o'clock."

During construction, the wind farm practically becomes a town of its own. Along with the turbine construction sites, the project has its own concrete plant, along with several trailers to hold offices for engineers and administrators.

To have enough workers, Cowan said he brought in people from Abilene. But most of them will be staying and spending money in Odessa.

Typically, Cowan said a wind farm will have between 150 and 300 workers during construction. And this one will be no exception.

"They're all pretty much mirror images," he said. "You see one, you've seen all of them." 

WHAT'S HAPPENED?

>> On July 17, the Texas Public Utility Commission approved a $5.75 billion plan to connect power sources in West Texas to the state's large population centers. Wind generation will be given priority on the newly built transmission lines.

>> The plan is expected to take four to five years to implement and add about $4 to the typical monthly electric bill.

>> At least seven companies have applied to work on the project including Oncor Electric Delivery, Electric Transmission Texas, AEP Texas Central Company, AEP Texas North Company, the Lower Colorado River Authority, Transmission Service Corp. and Sharyland Utilities.