texas

SARITA — On the 400,000-acre Kenedy Ranch along the southern Gulf Coast, the wind coming off the water nearly flattops the clusters of oak trees. Towering above the trees, above the long grasses, sand dunes, grazing cattle and the occasional antelope, are scores of wind turbines, each about as tall as a football field is long.

“It’s always nice to be cranking,” said Daniel Pitts, who manages the wind plant for its owner, Iberdrola Renewables, as the machines spun in the breeze.

The wind farm, which began operating in 2009 and doubled in size last year, reflects the new geography of wind power in Texas, the country’s leading wind state. The vast majority of Texas turbines have gone up in the west, harnessing fierce winds that sweep southward from the plains. But the West Texas projects have been hindered by a lack of transmission lines to carry the power. Meanwhile, several big wind farms have begun operating in the general vicinity of Corpus Christi in the past few years, and it is likely that more coastal projects are on the way.

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