Day Trips: Wind Turbines

Wind turbines along Texas highways look like daisies planted on the horizon lazily turning in the breeze. There is something about these electric-generating plants that are intriguing to some and, to others, a blight on the landscape.

The industrial-sized pinwheels occur primarily in the western half of the state, with the majority in the Panhandle. Wind turbines line the mesas along I-10 and I-20 in West Texas like picket fences. East of Lamesa on U.S. Highway 180 you can see three major energy sources – oil pump jacks, solar panels, and wind turbines.

The windmills along U.S. 84 between Sweetwater and Lubbock are prominent landmarks on the long drive. In South Texas, the windmills along U.S. 181 south of Taft (an ExxonMobil investment) have become a sign that we're near the beach.

As you drive past these big whirligigs, consider these fun facts.

• Texas produces more wind power than any other state.

• The Roscoe Wind Farm southwest of Sweetwater is the largest wind farm in the U.S., having a capacity of 781.5 megawatts with 627 individual wind turbines capable of powering more than 250,000 homes.

• The turbines you see along SH 70 south of Sweetwater are probably the Sweetwater Wind Farm – 392 wind turbines supplying 585.3 MW of power to Austin and San Antonio.

• Wind turbines, and other alternative electrical power sources, did not cause the statewide blackout of February 2021, as some state officials contended.

• The gearbox at the top of the 212-foot wind turbine pole and behind the 116- to 148-foot rotary blades is called a "nacelle" and is bigger than a bus – more than 50 feet long and weighing up to 300 tons.

• Some turbines might not be turning for a variety of reasons, including low wind speeds, high wind speeds, and maintenance. Wind turbines need minimum sustained winds of 9 mph to turn.

• Since 2006, many of the blades and components come into the state through the Port of Corpus Christi. The long, tractor-trailer-mounted blades can travel from Corpus Christi to El Paso by way of interstate highways, without going through a stoplight.

• Wind turbines have a life span of 20-25 years.

• Most blades are made of reinforced fiberglass.

• Technically the blades can be recycled, though the practice is not widespread. Newer blades are being built with materials that are more easily recycled.

• Windmills cause approximately 234,000 bird deaths per year in the U.S.; domestic cats are blamed for 2.4 million bird deaths per year.

• Scientists are working to reduce the number of bats killed by wind turbines by using ultrasonic acoustic deterrents.

1,610th in a series. Follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.