Windy Mid-sized Cities

Following the lead of President Obama, much of America is talking about renewable energy. For liberals, it represents a chance to protect the environment by drilling for oil less. For conservatives, it represents a chance to stop importing oil from the Middle East.

But one feature of the debate that hasn't been as widely discussed is where the renewable energy is coming from:

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2009/07/27/daily50.html

It turns out that mid-sized cities like Sweetwater, Texas (population 11,000) are leading the way, especially when it comes to wind energy. As the article notes:

"Texas continues to lead the nation in wind power generating capacity, with 454 megawatts added in the second quarter. That’s a 6 percent growth in wind capacity, giving the Lone Star State more than 8,000 megawatts in wind power capacity.

"This year, businesses in Texas have added a new wind farm in Abilene and announced a new facility in Sweetwater."

It used to be that folks made fun of West Texas for being so windy. Now they make money out of it.