A new law that took effect Monday helps pave the way for Louisiana’s developing wind energy industry. Authored in the legislature by Houma area Representative Jerome Zeringue, the new law increases a previously set limit of just 5000 acres for development of wind farms. He says expanding that to 25-thousand acres creates more possibilities for investors to get into wind power.
He says, “considering that the turbines have to be anywhere from 500 to 1000 acres apart, you’re looking at the potential to have 15 to 25 turbines within that one particular wind farm”
The law adds wind to forms of energy for which the state may officially enter into lease sales – either off shore or on land. It also establishes a mechanism for the state to get a revenue share of energy created. Zeringue says the law removes certain other restrictions, but expanding the available acreage is a major step forward.
“You want to put it to actually incentivize folks to actually establish the wind farms, so this is pretty much – as far as the standard and industry goes – about the minimum that would be economically feasible.”
Zeringue says the new law will be a large part of an “all-of-the-above” approach to energy for Louisiana, and he expects oil & gas companies will want to get more involved.
“This is going to augment and support the oil service industry – oil and gas industry – that are primed to be able to take advantage of this new technology. I mean, if you can build an oil rig you can build a wind turbine.”
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