The American Wind Energy Association has released the following statement from Michael Goggin, Manager of Transmission Policy, commenting on the news that wind turbines in the service territory of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT, the main Texas electric grid) set a new output record on Oct. 7. That afternoon, wind generated 15.2% of ERCOT's demand for electricity that afternoon, or 7,400 megawatts (MW).

"This new record set by wind on the main Texas grid is good news for consumers," Goggin said."Wind generation offsets the use of expensive fossil fuels, is pollution-free, and uses virtually no water, unlike other sources of electricity.

"Moreover, this is yet another case showing that large amounts of wind energy can be integrated into existing utility systems reliably.

"Texas is already the national leader in wind power. The number of wind turbines and wind farms there and in other windy states across America is continuing to grow and shows the success of stable federal tax policies, starting with the Production Tax Credit for renewable energy.

"Wind power is delivering cheap electricity to ratepayers in hard economic times, and it's hard to overstate the benefits of that far-sighted tax policy."

According to ERCOT, wind energy "represents nearly 58 percent of all new generation seen in planning stages over the next few years" in Texas.