The Great Texas Wind Rush: How George Bush, Ann Richards, and a Bunch of Tinkerers Helped the Oil and Gas State Win the Race to Wind Power

Kate Galbraith · Asher Price

07/2013 · University of Texas Press

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From two environmental journalists, “the improbable story of how the oil and gas state became the nation’s wind-power leader” (The Texas Observer).
 
In the late 1990s, West Texas was full of rundown towns and pumpjacks, aging reminders of the oil rush of an earlier era. Today, the towns are thriving as 300-foot-tall wind turbines tower above those pumpjacks. Wind energy has become Texas’s latest boom. How did this dramatic transformation happen in a state that fights federal environmental policies at every turn? In The Great Texas Wind Rush, environmental reporters Kate Galbraith and Asher Price tell the compelling story of a group of unlikely dreamers and innovators, politicos and profiteers.
The tale spans a generation and more, and it begins with the early wind pioneers, precocious idealists who saw opportunity after the 1970s oil crisis. Operating in an economy accustomed to exploiting natural resources and always looking for the next big thing, their ideas eventually led to surprising partnerships between entrepreneurs and environmentalists, as everyone from Enron executives to T. Boone Pickens, as well as Ann Richards, George W. Bush and Rick Perry, ended up backing the new technology. In this down-to-earth account, the authors explain the policies and science that propelled the “windcatters” to reap the great harvest of Texas wind. They also explore what the future holds for this relentless resource that is changing the face of Texas energy.
 
“Enjoyable to read. . . . I learned something on every page.” —Michael Webber, Associate Director, Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy, University of Texas at Austin
 
“A thoughtful, valuable story for anyone who cares about renewable energy or climate change.” ―The Associated Press

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KATE GALBRAITH Galbraith is a journalist who has covered energy issues for the Texas Tribune and the New York Times. ASHER PRICE Price reports on the environment for the Austin American-Statesman.