In 1999, the Texas Legislature established the state’s first renewable energy goals, aiming to create more than 2,000 megawatts of capacity from renewable sources such as wind, solar and water by 2009.

In 2005, the state’s renewable energy mandate was increased to approximately 6,000 megawatts by 2015, with a target of 10,000 megawatts by 2025. That same year, the Senate passed a bill that instructed the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to locate high-wind areas in Texas from which wind energy could be collected and transferred to major cities in the state where there is a growing demand for renewable energy. Based on ERCOT’s findings, overall transmission costs and suitable land areas, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) designated five Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZs) in 2007 in West Texas, the South Plains and the Texas Panhandle.

In 2008, ERCOT completed the CREZ Transmission Optimization Study (CTO Study) identifying transmission improvements necessary to deliver renewable energy from the CREZs. The following year the PUCT selected Cross Texas Transmission, and several other Transmission Service Providers, to construct, operate and maintain more than 2,300 miles of high-voltage transmission lines and other transmission infrastructure improvements. Texas is currently the top wind energy producer in the nation, and the CREZ effort will ultimately increase Texas’ wind generation capacity to 18,456 megawatts, more than doubling the 2009 level of wind generation in the state.

The CREZ transmission system expansion in the Texas Panhandle will allow for the interconnection of more than 5,500 megawatts, which is enough electricity to power 1.5 to 2 million homes.

Source: PUCT Docket Number 33672