Wind power dollars pour into west Texas economy

By Eileen O'Grady

BLACKWELL, Texas (Reuters) - Millions of dollars in new tax revenue generated from the wind power boom sweeping rural west Texas have helped fund a rash of school building projects, the first signs of an expected economic revival.

"It's the greatest thing that has happened here," said James Bible, superintendent of the Blackwell Consolidated Independent School District, where the shell of a new school is rising, financed mainly by tax revenue from windmills. "It's like day and night for the school districts."

When he joined the Blackwell district about two years ago, its property tax roll totalled $324 million. Now the total value has mushroomed to $1.2 billion due to the build-out of four nearby wind farms, Bible said.

New computers have replaced aging models in every classroom, teachers have Internet access on their "white boards" and advanced high-school curriculum will be offered soon, Bible said.

Blackwell is one of many cities stretching from Abilene to Midland, where local officials are harnessing tax dollars from a boom in wind power projects.

Florida-based FPL Group (FPL.N), German-based E.ON AG EONG.DE, AES Corp (AES.N) and others are investing billions to erect thousands of giant, whitewashed wind turbines across the wide-open landscape. The turbines capture abundant wind that can produce emission-free electricity and send it to power-hungry Texas cities like Dallas and Fort Worth.

Texas, better known for oil and gas production, leads the nation in wind capacity at more than 5,800 megawatts, a number expected to swell to 18,000 MW as new transmission lines are built.

Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens has become one of the biggest promoters of the wind industry, which has created jobs for local workers and royalties for farmers and ranchers who allow turbines on their land.