About the Project

WETT is currently under construction. See project maps in the sidebar.

Texas leads the U.S. in wind energy development and WETT is proud to be part of Texas’ efforts to continue that tradition. WETT will be building and operating high-voltage transmission lines in West Texas as part of a state-wide program to deliver clean, renewable energy throughout the state. We are committed to working closely with local communities, resulting in a direct economic development benefit to every county where we will operate. The background for our project started in 1999 when then-Governor George W. Bush signed legislation which created the Renewable Portfolio Standard requiring at least 2,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2009. In 2005, the Texas Legislature passed legislation which established five Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) to ensure that electric transmission infrastructure was aggressively developed to affordably and efficiently deliver wind energy throughout the state. This vision by lawmakers will help raise the current wind generation capacity to an estimated 18,000 megawatts by 2015 and will bring over $5 billion of transmission investment into Texas.

What is CREZ?

CREZ are specific areas located in West Texas and the Texas Panhandle that have been identified as resource rich, high wind areas. In fact, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has formally identified five (5) CREZ regions that will be supported with new transmission investment to take renewable, green electricity produced in the CREZ areas to the major population centers located in the eastern portion of Texas. The background for CREZ started in 1999 when Senate Bill 7 (SB 7) was passed and signed by the Governor which created the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) that required using at least 2,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2009. Texas has far exceeded that goal with over 7000 megawatts currently installed. In 2005, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 20 (SB20) which laid the groundwork to ensure transmission infrastructure is built in a systematic way so that the infrastructure will be able to efficiently move wind energy from designated CREZ areas to urban areas of the state where renewable energy demand is growing. As a result of SB 20, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) was tasked with collecting wind data and recommending CREZ areas based on transmission cost and suitable land areas. The PUCT took the recommendations from ERCOT and created five (5) CREZ regions that began the process of developing nearly 2,400 miles of new electric transmission lines. The vision by lawmakers will help raise the current wind generation capacity to nearly 20,000 megawatts by 2015 and will bring over $5 billion of transmission investment into Texas.