Wind farm plants

Texas lawmakers touring the state stopped in Harlingen Saturday to get a first-hand tour of a company that is recycling old tires into useful products.

Earlier in the day, the tour made its first-ever stop in Willacy County, where it visited a wind farm facility and was joined by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.

In Harlingen, members of the 19th Texas Legislative Tour, including lawmakers and staff members, visited Tire Recycling & Processing, which began operations last summer.

State Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, asked Marta Martinez, vice president of the company, “When we change our tires, where do the old tires go?”

Martinez said that, too often, tires have gone into landfills or are buried underground. But now, with the help of German technology, the company is recycling the tires into useful products, she said.

The company, at 1309 Industrial Way, produces crumb rubber, which is used for asphalt, synthetic grass and other products. Steel salvaged from tires is sent to Mexico for smelting and recycled into new products, she said.

Martinez explained how scrubbers are used to control air pollution from the plant. Gases captured from the process are either used for energy in the plant or are sold, she said.

The company produces biofuel, material for road paving, fiber for auto seats, material for printer ink and foam rubber, she said. Her company wants to build more plants like the one in Harlingen, Martinez said.

The tour continues today with visits to the Regional Academic Health Center in Harlingen and Marine Military Academy. State Rep. Armando Martinez, D-Weslaco, said he will visit the RAHC while on the tour.

His office is focusing on the high number of Medicaid patients in the Valley, funding for health care, the Medicare program changes causing local pharmacies to close and transpiration issues, Martinez said.

In Willacy County, state legislators toured a Duke Energy wind farm turbine facility. U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, and other lawmakers accompanied Cornyn to a program at the Willacy County Historical Museum in Raymondville.

Speaking at that event, Cornyn said maximizing oil shale and wind energy will help Texas to continue leading the nation in creating jobs.

Although oil shale drilling is centered northwest of the Rio Grande Valley, there is a lot of potential benefit to the whole state to be derived from horizontal drilling to tap into that resource, Cornyn said. Oil shale is adding $358 million annually to state coffers and 27,000 jobs, he said.

The profit potential in wind energy is evidenced by the many wind turbines he saw while riding through Willacy County, the senator said.

“The challenge, of course, is the infrastructure pressure,” Cornyn said. “Money is always the issue and we have to decide how to prioritize,” he said.

Schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and better roads and bridges are needed to meet the demands of the future, Cornyn said. Education must be supported through institutions such as Texas State Technical College, South Texas College, University of Texas at Brownsville and Southmost College and UT-Pan American, he said.

The lack of an interstate highway has held back development and job growth in the Valley, but the effort to build Interstate 69 will meet that challenge, Cornyn said.

Problems of Willacy County, the Valley and Texas won’t be solved with quick fixes, Cornyn said.“I think we’ve got a lot of challenges ahead of us,” he said.

During a break, Vela said construction of wind turbines will continue. He knows of several pending permits in the Kleberg County area, he said. Tension with Mexico over water rights is critical, Vela said. “We’re taking a very close look at the 1944 water treaty,” he said.

Border security and the drug war in Mexico are also a great concern, Vela said. A program to assist training Mexican troops in use of high-tech surveillance gear is being approved, he said.