When the Wind Comes Sweepin' Down the Plain

Some of you may know that I grew up in a small town in western Oklahoma. About the time I left for California, the state was experiencing an oil boom like none other. According to the Oklahoma Geological Society, each year from 1970 to 1980, completed wells (oil producers and dry holes) tripled. By 1983, this number had doubled again to just over 12,000 completed wells per year in just this state alone. As you can well imagine, this brought a lot of people into the area to work. Housing was built quickly, businesses blossomed and everyone seemed to be set.

Over the next few years, only 10,000 wells were completed each year. However,by the end of the decade, it was down to 2,000 annually. Not very sustainable in terms of a resource or an economic model. Fueled by the collapse of the stock market in October 1987, per capita incomes in the state collapsed by 80%, the workers left to try and find other opportunities, housing emptied and businesses went under. I bring all this up to give some context to my next point.

In 2004 landowners in the area agreed to allow Florida Power & Light to place wind turbines on their properties. According to a flier put out by the company, in 2005 the completed wind farm surrounding the town generates enough electricity to power more than 44,000 homes, more than enough power for the area and plenty to export. The state's economic development team took notice and put a program in place to attract more wind power companies to the state. They realized that because Oklahoma is situated smack dab in the middle of the country's wind and transportation corridors; it is perfectly placed to be a hub of wind power. Partnering with the state's universities, the Commerce Department is working to ensure that the state is a destination for anyone wanting to learn or do more with Wind Power; from manufacturing, R&D and training, to the actual production of power. This was the start of something big for the entire state!

Last year when I was visiting my mom over the holidays, I had some time on my hands and drove out to see what everyone was talking about for myself. After driving past all the old haunts, homes and cruising Main Street I headed out Route 66 towards the tops of the turbines I had seen from the highway. A few miles outside of town, there they were! Stretched out through the fields of wheat were turbines as far as I could see. Of course the wind was blowing and they were turning slowly; doing their job of generating power.

This is a great example of how a region and then a state took advantage of a readily available resource to fuel an economic recovery. The first example (oil) was obviously not sustainable, but the second, well, the lyric "where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain" in the state song is not there for nothing! The new wind farms provide employment, add tax base, provides economic stimulus to the landowners where the turbines are placed. They create no air or water pollution, use no water to generate the electricity and as an added bonus, allow the land to remain in agricultural use, which keeps the existing economic base alive,while providing economic diversity to the area.



Despite the huge advantages, there are some disadvantages to wind power; noise of the turbines, cost to install and maintain, and the required scale - you need quite a few turbines to justify a full scale installation. Wind can be unpredictable; energy cannot be generated if it isn't blowing. Finally, there are some concerns that migrating birds, using the prevailing wind streams to get where they need to go, can be killed by flying into the turbines. All of this must be balanced with the needs of a region, but by balancing energy generation with an effort to reduce the impact to the area surrounding the production, we can utilize a resource that may be endless in supply. This helps reduce dependence on a non-renewable resource, creates jobs and income streams for communities that may be looking for ways to diversify their economy. Sustainability at its best.