The Great Texas Wind Rush by Kate Galbraith

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

University of Texas Press · Print & ebook · July 15, 2013

In the late 1990s, West Texas was full of rundown towns and pumpjacks, aging reminders of the oil rush of an earlier era.

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Who it’s for
Trace how wind pioneers, shifting alliances, policy, and science reshaped Texas energy.
Themes
Texas wind power growth, Oil-to-wind transition, Energy policy and science
Genres
Renewable Energy, Southwest U.S. History, Energy Policy

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About this book

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, with the Lone Star State now leading the nation. How did this dramatic transformation happen in a place that fights federal environmental policies at every turn?

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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.

Texas Wind Pioneers

Trace how wind pioneers, shifting alliances, policy, and science reshaped Texas energy.

Come here for

  • The early wind pioneers and the partnerships that followed
  • The policies and science behind Texas wind power

Expect

  • A story spanning a generation and more
  • Attention to wind power’s future in Texas

Where it sits

Renewable Energy63%
Southwest U.S. History58%
Energy Policy45%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Energy Industry
  • Southwest U.S. History
  • Renewable Energy
Authors
Kate Galbraith, Asher Price
Publisher
University of Texas Press
Published
July 15, 2013
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Texas wind power growth · Oil-to-wind transition · Energy policy and science
Reading lane
Energy Industry