The majority of the growth in wind production has taken place over the past decade, which is relatively recent considering turbines that produce electricity have been around since the 1800's. The majority of Texas is part of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) Electric Grid, with a handful of areas, including the Panhandle, outside the grid's boundary. This means there was no way for wind farms to send power to the larger cities in Texas. The recent investment in wind is a direct result of the construction of Texas' Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ) line. This is a network of power line that stretch more then 3,600 miles and allow wind farms in our area to 'plug in' to the ERCOT grid.

Part of president-elect Donald Trump's promise to create new jobs for Americans relies on a "deficit-neutral plan" to spend $1 trillion on public works projects, including hundreds of billions for roads and rail. But the strategy could result in something many Texans aren't going to like: more toll roads.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Lillian Salerno today announced three new public-private partnerships that will create economic opportunities in Elgin, Texas; Fresno, Calif.; and Chicago. The Food LINC partnerships will help community leaders and private philanthropic partners develop regional food supply chains that drive job growth and increase farm income while helping to meet consumer demand for regionally produced food.

Hidalgo County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a resolution establishing the Hidalgo County Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program with an Interlocal Agreement between the county and the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council.

The next two buildings at West Gate Business Park at the southeast corner of U.S. Highway 380 and North Western Boulevard in Denton, Texas, will get abatements on the property tax bills, and in turn future tenants will get discounted leases. Based on the tenants WGBP Investments, the company heading the project, gets over the next 10 years, it'll make back between $585,904 and $732,380. WGBP Investments is headed by Brandon Martino, who also owns The Martino Group in Denton.

The board of the tax increment finance district for the north side and Historic Stockyards voted Wednesday to ask the city to advance $7.9 million to cover public improvements along East Exchange Avenue and a major sewer line upgrade along Mule Alley. The TIF, established in 2014, is only in its second year of collecting revenue, so there is not yet enough money to cover the costs of the improvements, which are eligible for TIF monies. Under the proposal, the TIF will repay the city over a 10-year period interest-free.

In late June the Circuit Trail Conservancy said it would attempt to raise $23 million in private dollars to complete the trail system Dallas has long been promised — the 50-mile-long network that would link North Dallas to southern Dallas to East Dallas, Bishop Arts to Uptown. On November 2nd, its board members held a news conference in the Flag Room to say they had delivered on the promise. Now, the conservancy needs something in return from the City Council: $20 million in bond money.

The El Paso city council unanimously approved more than $5 million in tax incentives for Topgolf to start construction. When the Borderland's first Topgolf opens, it will be in the least populated city the company has ever expanded to. So to sweeten the deal, the City Council voted to give Topgolf $5.2 million in tax breaks.

It's a tax reinvestment zone which could help bring in $100 million dollars for the city. The City Council hosted a public hearing for the creation of a tax increment reinvestment zone in east Amarillo.

The Intro Brownfields Finance Course is the industry's only comprehensive training curriculum that helps economic developers, policy makers and real estate professionals understand and master the financing strategies for the lifecycle of a brownfield property. During this course, attendees will walk through the entire brownfields redevelopment process from understanding the basics of brownfields and legal and regulatory challenges to unearthing the myriad financing tools available to both clean-up and build-up these contaminated or polluted sites.

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