Late last week, Houston Mayor Bill White announced a plan to negotiate a contract ensuring that his city gets one-third of its electricity from wind power. If the city council approves the deal, it will send investors yet another strong signal of wind power's staying power. Moreover, it could offer investors a profitable opportunity.
The electricity will reportedly be generated by a Shackelford County wind farm operated by Horizon Wind Energy. If so, it could give Energias de Portugal (OTC BB: EDPFY.PK), which purchased Horizon Wind from Goldman Sachs
Over the longer term, given that it takes 1.3 billion kilowatt hours of electricity to power Houston's public facilities each year, the size of the deal suggests that the city will be using more than 50 megawatts worth of wind power. Incremental demand is music to the ears of wind-turbine manufacturers, and we'll see how many other cities follow suit.
In just the past year, General Electric
Normally, I would recommend Motley Fool Rule Breakers recommendation PowerShares WilderHill Cleantech Energy
Interested in other wind power-related foolishness? Check out these articles:
- A Fresh Breeze at Siemens
- GE Cleans Up
- The Biggest Economic Opportunity of the Century
- The Best ETF of 2007: PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy
Fool contributor Jack Uldrich owns stock in GE. The Fool has a strict disclosure policy.