As the debate over climate change rages on — with some fervently believing we need to curb our fossil fuel usage, while others think it is a global hoax — there’s one thing we know for certain: South Texas has plenty of wind.

And harnessing that wind can supply electricity and energy, not only for the Rio Grande Valley but for other communities in Texas and elsewhere in the United States.

On Tuesday, commissioners formally approved a letter of support with EDP Renewables for construction of the Hidalgo Wind Farm. The project involves building 102 wind turbines in the northwestern part of the county, near McCook, which should produce 204 megawatts of power and add $200 million in taxable assets to our county’s tax base.

Additional turbines will be located in Starr County. Altogether, the 33,000 acres of developed wind farms should produce 250 megawatts of electricity, EDP Project Manager Henry Woltag, of Houston, said.

The total project involves a $410 million investment, $250 million of which is in Hidalgo. The total taxable value in the first year was placed at $180 million.

County Judge Ramon Garcia said that this is a good use of land that will be an economic multiplier for the county, and region

Landowners will receive royalties and our fertile winds will supply much-needed power.

The county is offering tax incentives, in excess of $7 million. But Garcia has said the county overall will collect $17 million over 25 years of business.

Electricity from the wind farm will connect to the new Electric Transmission Texas transmission line being built from Edinburg to Brownsville. Exactly where the electricity from the Hidalgo Wind Farm project is delivered is anyone’s guess, but Woltag promises some of it will stay in the Valley.

Font: The Monitor