The State of New Jersey has announced plans to build a $1 Billion Wind Farm off its coast. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has picked Garden State Offshore Energy, a partnership between Public Service Enterprise Group Renewable Generation and Deepwater Wind, to construct an offshore wind farm capable of generating more 350 MW of electricity. The facility will be located in a rectangular grid situated between 16 to 20 miles off the coast of Cape May and Atlantic Counties, in South Jersey.

The location so far offshore will make the facility barely visible from land, as illustrated above in a visual presentation from PSEG, which alleviates the opposition of beachfront property owners and coastal communities to the technology. As much as people claim to love renewable energy, the “Not in my backyard” concern is still alive and well with these public works.

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The State of Texas has just approved a plan for enormous $4.9 Billion investment in wind power, the largest in U.S. history. Utility officials in the Lone Star State gave preliminary approval to the plan which will build new transmission lines for carrying electricity from the turbines of windy west Texas to power urban areas like the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

The plan, which was approved by a 2-1 vote by the Texas Public Utility Commission, will provide the vital transmission capability for up 18,000 Megawatts, enough to power more than 4 million homes. Texas currently pays some of the highest electricity rates in the country, which the new plan will help to bring down by putting more power online in the congested system.

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“Big Oil” Man T. Boone Pickens (you can’t make this stuff up) is moving into the wind power market with plans to develop the world’s largest wind farm in the Texas panhandle. The wind power facility will produce 4,000 megawatts of electricity per year, enough to power more than 1,300,000 homes.

The 80 year old Pickens told NPR’s Living on Earth this past weekend:

“For a number of years I’ve watched the wind turbines develop - and I feel like it’s time for it. I think that oil has peaked at 85 million barrels in the world. We’ve got to develop other forms of energy - wind, I think solar will be next, and I hope I’m still around to be in the solar deal.”

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Mother’s Day is this Sunday (don’t forget!), so be sure to take a look at some of the great posts we’ve put together in celebration of moms everywhere! Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Katie Halper:

Top 10 Mother’s Day E-Cards

Hillary Andrews Will Not Lick Bob Stokes’ Swizzle Stick

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Nicole Hughes:

Top 10 Green Gift Wrap Ideas For Mothers Day

Peak Oil Strip Tease

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Andy Kondrat:

Tornado Devestated Town Rebuilds As Green Model Community

Radiohead Attempts An Eco-Friendly World Tour

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Jon Popham:

Nepalese Art Photography: Rubin Museum of Art

America’s First Wind-Powered City

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Giulia Rozzi:

Women For Women International Celebrates Mothers Day

Even More on the Kentucky Derby

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Gina Telaroli:

Video Blog: The Week In Social Action

The War Now Tomorrow and Forever

Rock Port, Missouri (pop. 1395) has become the first city in America to be powered 100% by wind energy. The Loess Hill Wind Farm, built entirely within the cozy confines of Rock Port, is now online with four 1.25 megawatt wind turbines, capable of collectively producing 16 gigawatts of electricity annually. Rock Port’s historic consumption of electricity averages around 13 gigawatts, giving the northwest Missouri town a net surplus of 3 gigawatts of electricity which will be sold to the Missouri Public Utility Alliance.

You can by learning more about wind energy on the website of the American Wind Energy Association, the trade association of the wind power industry. The AWEA educates the public regarding wind power and lobbies politician to create responsible public policy that further utilizes this clean, sensible technology.