Where do they take all that energy for distributuion? Do they lease all those sites or own them?

I'm a nerdy surveyor and I pass by them each time I go visit family in El Paso area and I'm always curious.

Usually the companies that own the generators lease the land from the owners.

So, it's pretty similiar to oil well leases?

fairly similar. from what i understand they lease the land and you get a certain % of profit and there's a minimum if it doesn't reach that profit they'll pay you.

i also think you cant' keep live stock on it.

Thanks for the info. Any idea where they transmit all that energy to for distribution? I thought I heard Abilene once.

I'm kinda looking for new markets to break into with surveying.

Martifer just opened a big plant in angelo. Huge boost.

With all the new wind farms coming online, they are outstripping local demand. In the near future someone is going to need to invest pretty heavily in some distribution lines to bring all that power from the rural western areas to the major population centers in the state.

The state committed money to the Ercot system for more new distribution lines. I have a friend that leases wind rights for a reseller. They gather the land and resell it to the big boys, like Florida Power and Light. The electricity is put on the state grid after it is produced. It can only be put on the grid if the windmill operators have a contract to sell it to someone.

Airtricity and Florida Light & Power are the two big company's out in the Sweetwater-Roscoe area. We have 5 windmills and a distribuation station on our cotton fields, plus about 15 more on our family's land. The lease agreement we signed is for a 30-year lease and the income from that lease should total around $100,000 per year, give or take a few thousand bucks. The income will easily offset the loss in cotton income and has already revitalized the area economy. It will be a nice place to move to when we finally retire.

[This message has been edited by Blacque Jacque Shallaque (edited 11/18/2008 10:09a).]

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