For a while there it looked like the ambitious projects like T. Boone Pickens' plan to build expansive wind farms along Texas' panhandle was in danger. The trouble revolved around transmission lines, or the lack of them. In fact, even at this early stage, wind turbines are routinely shut off because there's not enough transmission capacity.

Now The New York Times reports that Texas regulators have given the green light to a nearly $5 billion wind energy transmission plan.

Texas regulators have approved a $4.93 billion wind-power transmission project, providing a major lift to the development of wind energy in the state.

The planned web of transmission lines will carry electricity from remote western parts of the state to major population centers like Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. The lines can handle 18,500 megawatts of power, enough for 3.7 million homes on a hot day when air-conditioners are running.

Here are some of the essential details.

Transmission companies will pay the upfront costs of the project. They will recoup the money from power users, at a rate of about $4 a month for residential customers.

Details of the plan will be completed by Aug. 15, according to Damon Withrow, director of government relations at the Public Utility Commission, which voted 2 to 1 to go ahead with the transmission plan. The lines will not be fully constructed until 2013.

And what's billionaire oil man T. Boone Pickens been up to? Pickens still plans to build out his wind farms, and because of the timetable, he'll be tackling transmission independently of the state. Also, you may have caught him on some TV ads recently, especially if you're a fan of the National Geographic Channel.

He makes an awfully patriotic pitch to viewers and points them to his website, PickensPlan.com. Notably, his plan places an emphasis on economics and national security, but the environmental benefits are hard to ignore.