But it has been supplying more and more power to the Texas grid.

In 2011, wind accounted for 8.5 percent of the power generated in Texas, up from 2.7 percent in 2007, according to Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which oversees the grid that provides power to 85 percent of the state's population.

Playing politics

Some Republicans in Congress want to halt subsidies completely and let market forces decide whether wind can survive on its own.

Earlier this month, the Senate Finance Committee approved a one-year extension of the tax credit by 19-5 vote, but it has not come up for a vote on the Senate floor.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, cast one of the five "no" votes, but did support extending the credit with a 20-percent reduction.

"Sen. Cornyn is committed to permanent, pro-growth tax reform that lowers rates, broadens the base, and helps job creation," said press secretary Drew Brandewie.

But Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, where the second-most wind installations are located in the U.S., argued that the subsidy shouldn't be cut off or reduced.

"No single energy tax incentive should be singled out over others, energy-related and not, before a broad-based tax reform debate," Grassley said in a statement.

In Sweetwater, Wortham said residents are frustrated with the lack of strong support from the Texas Republican Congressional delegation on wind, noting that it was once an issue the GOP supported. The tax credit began under President George H.W. Bush's administration in 1992 and wind power greatly accelerated under President George W. Bush's leadership.

In West Texas, Wortham said, residents welcome all kinds of energy -- oil, gas, coal, nuclear as well as wind -- and it shouldn't be about pitting one energy source against another.

"Let's be for all of it because we're out here making it," Wortham said. "Right now, they're playing with people's livelihoods with this tax credit."

This report includes information from the Associated Press