October 30, 2009 – It was recently announced that, in a joint venture between Chinese and American developers, the West Texas construction industry will be seeing a 36,000 acre wind farm.  This project is monumental, not just for the green energy which it will produce, but also because it represents a change in tide for the US, who formerly avoided foreign investments in state-side energy generation.  The consortium of American and Chinese companies includes A-Power Energy Generation Systems, the U.S. Renewable Energy Group, and Cielo Wind Power of Austin.

The enormous wind farm is expected to generate 600-megawatts, which is approximately enough power for 150,000 American homes.  The project will utilize 240 turbines, which will be built in China by A-Power Energy Generation Systems and then exported to the United States.  Funding for the project comes from multiple sources, including the US federal government and Chinese banks.

The construction of the power generation plant, which is expected to begin in the spring of 2010, will provide West Texas construction companies with much needed income during these tough economic times.  Struggling contractors who traditionally have made their money from large building projects have recently been trying to find work wherever possible, often turning to small home improvement contracts, like kitchen and bath remodeling.  The West Texas wind farm is projected to create over 300 local construction jobs.

Though many Texans have voiced opposition to the concept of investors from a communist regime funding this project, consensus opinion was that it was better to get the green energy with the Chinese investors on board, than to have no wind farm at all.   The hope is that the farm contributes not only renewable energy to the state of Texas, but also boosts the local regional economy with long term jobs and economic stability.

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