The Perryman Group gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the following scholars, all of whom are supportive of the CREZ initiative and its importance to the future of Texas. |
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Dr. Jeremy Hall |
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| “Transmission lines are today what the interstate highways were 60 years ago: the viaducts and corridors through which the lifeblood of the modern economy flows. Connecting homes, business and industry across the state to efficient and clean energy sources will ensure Texans have the power they need to live and conduct commerce.
The Perryman Group report demonstrates the central role this project will play to enhance Texas' global economic competitiveness for years to come." |
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| Dr. John Hill Associate Professor of Economics Hardin-Simmons University Abilene, TX |
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| “The Perryman Group’s (TPG) economic impact study of the Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ) transmission investment provides a comprehensive overview of the myriad benefits this investment will provide to the state of Texas.
The CREZ transmission investment guarantees Texas’ tradition as an energy producer and, as the report acknowledges, positions the state to maintain a pivotal role in energy as Texas transitions to more sustainable production of power. The report recognizes this is not just limited to wind energy; TPG recognizes the benefits to existing energy production and anticipates the development of solar power as another complementary, sustainable sector that would be facilitated by the CREZ transmission investment. Importantly, the TPG study recognizes the first-order returns to land owners in the form of royalties and transitory construction jobs, but through modeling and input-output analysis, it estimates the many, multiple rounds of sustained and positive impact that wind energy promises to existing and new businesses across the Texas economy for the future. Taking a regional perspective, TPG’s report offers good news to west Texas. It acknowledges our tradition of energy production and that our regional land use perceptions are compatible with the continued manufacture of energy. As the role of oil and gas in our regional economy wanes, this report is heartening as it defines our prospects associated with transitioning to sustainable energy arising from solar and wind. This should be appealing to policymakers as they balance equity and efficiency aims; not only does the modeling in the TPG report show the CREZ transmission investment makes fiscal sense for Texas, but it promises benefits for less-developed, rural economies that are typically the target of economic development efforts. Again, this study provides an inclusive and compelling summary of the many benefits of wind energy and builds a strong case for investment in electric infrastructure if Texas is to realize these benefits.” |
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| Dr. James Mjelde Professor of Agricultural Economics Texas A&M University College Station, TX |
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| "There is no doubt that cheap energy fuels economic growth. Political, environmental, social, and economic factors, however, are questioning the U.S. dependence on oil. Although for the foreseeable future, our economy will continue to be oil based, wind generated electricity is in the suite of alternatives necessary to help alleviate our oil dependence. Estimating the market impacts of large investments in green energy infrastructure is challenging to say the least. Along these lines, The Perryman Group, using accepted economic analysis techniques coupled with reasonable assumptions, has undertaken one if not the most detailed study of the market impacts of development in Competitive Renewable Energy Zones in Texas. Estimates of the market impacts from this detailed study are definitely of the appropriate order of magnitude." | |
| Dr. James Owen Assistant Professor of Economics Director, Bureau of Business and Government Research Midwestern State University Wichita Falls, TX |
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| “An important component in achieving economic growth is access to an adequate and reliable supply of energy. Among the items evaluated by The Perryman Group, "Winds of Prosperity" concludes that CREZ transmission infrastructure and the investment in wind generation will help achieve adequate and reliable sources of energy. With respect to North Texas, the proposed investments offer an opportunity for counties and communities to achieve economic growth by participating in the development of these projects. These proposed projects appear to be favorable and appropriate additions to the North Texas economy and to the Texas state economy.” | |
| Dr. Michael Giberson Center for Energy Commerce Rawls College of Business Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX |
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| “Construction of the CREZ transmission lines will benefit the people of the state of Texas, and nowhere will that be truer than here in the Panhandle and South Plains area.
As the ERCOT transmission grid is extended into this area, it will enable the development of the area’s substantial renewable power potential. As described in The Perryman Group study, the CREZ lines will result in a significant boost to the state’s economy, both due to the investment and operation of new facilities and due to lower overall energy costs for consumers served by the ERCOT transmission system. I have been asked by The Perryman Group to review their report from the point of view of the Panhandle and South Plains area. The view from here is clear: the CREZ lines will make possible significant investment in the development of wind power resources, with attendant jobs and royalty payments to landowners and other benefits that simply will not happen for the foreseeable future without those lines. Currently it is essentially impossible to take power produced in this part of Texas and sell it to the state’s big power customers in cities like Dallas, San Antonio and Houston. That is one reason why the Abilene to Sweetwater to Roscoe area has blossomed as a wind power center, while the development of even better wind power resources further north in the state has been limited. With the CREZ lines, the potential is to have as much or more wind power development in the Panhandle and South Plains as currently exists in Central West Texas. The benefits to the communities of Central West Texas from wind power development are clear, and similar benefits are available to the wind-resource rich areas of the Panhandle and South Plains. But achieving that benefit will depend on the ability to sell power to consumers served by the ERCOT grid, and ability that depends on the construction of the CREZ transmission expansion. I teach at Texas Tech University, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge both the many related activities going on at the University and the potential benefits to the University that will come from the CREZ line development. The university features a Wind Science and Engineering program, which just celebrated its 40th anniversary, offering a first-in-the-nation PhD program in wind science and engineering. The Wind Science and Engineering Center has teamed up with the Texas Wind Energy Institute to develop and offer both undergraduate and graduate level programs in wind power. Their efforts are complemented by other researchers and faculty elsewhere in the College of Engineering, in the Economics department, in Atmospheric Sciences, in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, and the Law School, all working on wind power related topics. In addition, university researchers are involved in solar power, biomass, and other energy resource development issues. I teach in the Energy Commerce program in the Rawls College of Business where we have been expanding our curriculum to educate students for an energy future that offers substantial opportunities in both oil and gas and other traditional energy resources and renewable energy resources. The university is also participating in the development of a research wind facility near Amarillo that is close to the planned CREZ transmission lines. So much is going on at the university that I’m sure to have left something out. In part what this means is as the wind power industry develops in the region, Texas Tech will be ready – Texas Tech is ready – to supply the training, education, and research support the industry needs. As wind power develops in the region, the Lubbock-area will supply construction worker, engineering and design efforts, and banking, insurance, legal and other professional support to the industry. |
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