In 1982, as a field engineer in California's wind farms, I believed we were about to fundamentally change the way electricity was being generated and distributed. In those days, generous federal renewable-energy tax credits were available, America was smarting from OPEC's oil embargo and interest in alternative energy was growing rapidly. But, reality often redirects wild-eyed idealists. I was one of them.

Now, I am involved in researching electric transmission grids at Los Alamos National Laboratory. I rarely think of the early heydays of wind power, knowing that so many public inducements and novelties of that time are gone. Instead, I ponder how we are going to ensure that enough affordable, clean energy is available to support my daughter's hope for a comparable lifestyle in the future. With high oil prices again in the news (seems like déjà vu), we are going to be forced to make similar choices.

I am cautiously optimistic. One favorable indicator is the sheer scale of wind power projects being proposed now. The Department of Energy just released its report titled "20 percent Wind Energy by 2030," which describes a national plan to use wind resources to provide a large fraction of electricity consumed in the U.S. In order to produce this much energy, America will need nearly 30 times the number of wind turbines currently installed, as well as additional transmission lines to carry wind power to cities where it can be consumed. This will require an Apollo-to-the-Moon type of effort, funded mainly by private industry with some federal- and state-level support. But we also need to start the process locally, in areas where wind resources are strong and politicians support the concept of developing wind power. New Mexico is potentially one of those states.

Our neighbors have announced large wind-power projects, notably T. Boone Pickens' project in Texas. Ten billion dollars will be invested to build the world's largest wind farm, providing enough power for up to 1.3 million homes. His plan predictably has its detractors, who claim siting, environmental, cost and political problems will arise. For one, Texas needs more transmission lines. But there are notable benefits: The wind farm potentially replaces 3 large coal-fired plants, avoids substantial carbon emissions and saves up to 6 billion gallons of cooling water per year. In my view, the technical problems are all solvable.

The cost of electricity generated by wind farms will also be questioned. Each state with wind resources will be forced to evaluate how its regulations prevent the true cost of energy from being reflected in our monthly electricity bills, avoiding price distortions that favor one source of energy over another. Prices we pay for residential electricity will be compared against the price of electricity generated from small-scale prototype wind farms. This will be a misleading comparison. Building wind farms at large scale is the key to economic success in the same way that our utilities build large power plants. Some of the most influential players in this debate will be state legislators and regulatory commissioners who know the importance of large-scale developments. Fair cost comparisons in turn will lead Americans to make informed choices to develop types of energy we need. This debate will continue, as it did during the 1980s, but I hope for my daughter's sake that the outcome is different now.

G. Loren Toole is a former electric utility engineer and public regulatory staff member who now works with DOE's renewable energy program at Los Alamos National Laboratory.