In 2005 the Texas Legislature enacted a law requiring Texas to increase the use of renewable energy, primarily wind generation, located in West Texas. The legislation required the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) to designate Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) throughout the state and develop a plan to construct necessary transmission infrastructure and capacity to deliver new renewable energy to electric customers in Texas.
The PUCT developed a plan to ensure that the new CREZ transmission infrastructure would be built in a systematic way to efficiently move wind energy from CREZ areas to urban areas where renewable energy demand was and is growing. The ambitious plan required 2,800 miles of new transmission line to be permitted, designed and constructed by eight transmission providers in just five years.
In order to stimulate competition and economic growth, the PUCT awarded some CREZ transmission construction projects to new companies, one of which was WETT. WETT received its license to construct transmission in late 2010 and completed construction of its initial 375 miles of transmission line and six substations three years later.
Since going into full operation, WETT has connected over 2873 MW of both wind and solar generation, always working towards its mission of delivering renewable energy to the state of Texas. WETT continues to connect generation and improve the transmission network as the state grows and reliable delivery of energy is needed.