Boston (Platts)--27Jul2007

TXU's Luminant Energy generation subsidiary and Shell WindEnergy Friday
said they had agreed to jointly develop 3,000 MW of wind energy capacity in
the Texas panhandle. The companies also said they will explore the possibility
of building compressed air storage facilities tied to the wind farms. 

     In addition, the pair said the agreement may lead to the joint
development of other renewable energy projects in Texas, which in 2005 
expanded its renewable portfolio standard to require the addition of another 
3,000 MW of wind and other renewable capacity between January 2009 and January
2015. The state also added a "target" of another 10,000 MW of renewable energy
in the 10 years after 2015. 

     Details of the planned wind farms were not disclosed. The announcement
comes a week after the Texas Public Utility Commission designated eight
"competitive renewable energy zones" in the state--including two in the
Panhandle region, which is part of the Southwest Power Pool, and six in the
Electric Reliability Council of Texas region. The so-called CREZ designations
are expected to lead to the development several new 345-kV transmission lines
that would deliver wind power from the panhandle and West Texas to population
centers in the state.