Power Engineering - Wind power soars globally, nationally

DALLAS, April 22, 2002 -- On the day set aside to celebrate the earth's natural resources, TXU on Monday recognized an environmental milestone of its own.

In 2001, TXU, a global energy business based in Dallas, became the largest purchaser of wind energy in Texas and the fourth largest in the United States, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Globally, TXU has enough renewable energy to power more than 355,000 homes in the U.S., Europe and Australia.

Texas wind power production soared in 2001 with a record number of wind turbines erected in West Texas. TXU led the way with 382 megawatts of the 916 megawatts installed. Last year TXU received the Utility Leadership Award from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) for being in the vanguard of the Texas wind energy boom. TXU purchases wind power from four projects located in West Texas near Abilene, Big Spring, and Pecos County.

"Texas led the nation in adding wind turbines last year and TXU led Texas. Out of 1,000 wind turbines in Texas, TXU receives energy from 440. That's enough clean, renewable energy to power more than 80,000 homes annually," said Bill Driscoll, vice president, TXU.

* AWEA says of new wind power capacity installed last year:
* Nearly 1,700 megawatts was from wind farms built across the U.S.
* Texas more than tripled its wind capacity and would rank sixth among the nations of the world in wind capacity if it were a country, based on one year's development alone.
* TXU added 390 megawatts of wind power in 2001.

Outside of the U.S., TXU is participating in renewable energy projects in Europe and Australia, including wind farms, hydroelectric power, and biomass generation.

* In Europe, TXU is a partner in a 200-megawatt offshore wind farm in the United Kingdom and has purchased a 40 per cent equity stake in two wind farms under construction in Argon, central Spain. The first generation from the Spanish wind farm is expected at the end of 2002.
* In the state of Victoria in Australia, TXU has interests in landfill gas and mini-hydroelectric projects totaling 31 megawatts.
* Globally, TXU has enough renewable energy to power more than 355,000 homes in the U.S., Europe and Australia.
TXU is a global provider in electric and natural gas services, merchant energy trading, energy marketing, energy delivery, telecommunications, and energy-related services. With $42 billion in assets and $28 billion in annual revenue, TXU is one of the most influential energy services companies in the world. TXU is the No.1 competitive energy retailer in the United States and one of the largest globally, owns or controls extensive competitive generation around the world, and ranks among the top five energy traders globally.

TXU, which sells 335 million megawatt hours of electricity and 2.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas annually, serves 11 million customers worldwide, primarily in the US, Europe and Australia.

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