Mexico to build big wind power facility

Robert McKnight

1-23-09

2:13

In La Ventosa, Mexico they're building one of the world's biggest wind power facilities.  Although very oil-dependent for some time, Mexico wants to start taking advantage of its bountiful solar and wind resources.  The wind in the La Ventosa region regularly travels at 15 to 20 mph, which is nearly the perfect speed to spin wind turbines.  The facility is to produce enough electricity for 500,000 people and cut CO2 emissions by 600,000 metric tons per year.  Electricity isn't the only thing being "generated" though...  850 new jobs are attributed to the project.

However, not all in La Ventosa are happy.  Nay-sayers of the new facility say that foreign companies are building the turbines, aren't paying enough to rent the land, and intend to sell all the power to other foreign companies like Wal-Mart.  In fact, the project was a joint operation with big Mexican cement company, Cemex Inc., a quarter of whose power will be supplied by the facility.  

Eye for an eye, I guess.  La Ventosa is using less oil, but foreign super-powers are moving in on its land and getting bigger off its renewable resources.  Jobs are being created, but the energy the workers produce probably won't ever be sent to their homes or their friends' or families' homes.

It reminds me of the increasing availability of organic foods.  It's cool that more food is being produced more naturally, but most of the big companies getting involved care more about widening their consumer market than increasing the longevity of their buyers or the planet.

At least people are thinking about things, though.  At least something is starting to happen.  We're starting to move in a new direction.  At least people are starting to realize that if we keep going the way we're going, we'll be sorry.  Hopefully one day even those money-minded people of the world will realize that we've all got a lot more to lose than a little profit.    

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