Reese Technology Center

"Reese Center" redirects here. For the unincorporated community, see Reese Center, Texas.

Reese Technology Center is a research and business park located on the grounds of former Reese Air Force Base in western Lubbock at the unincorporated community of Reese Center.

Reese Technology Center
Aircraft hangar at the former Reese Air Force Base, now Reese Technology Center
Location of Reese Center
General information
Type	Research Center
Location	9801 N. Reese Blvd, Suite 200, Lubbock, Texas, United States
Coordinates	33°35′47″N 102°02′34″W
Opened	1997
Technical details
Size	3,000 sq. ft.
Website
http://www.reesetechnologycenter.com/

History

After the Cold War ended, the Department of Defense made large-scale reductions in equipment, personnel, and bases, freeing U.S. taxpayer money for other uses. In 1995, Reese Air Force Base was placed on the Base Realignment and Closure Commission list, though community members and leaders did object. The Lubbock Reese Redevelopment Committee (LRRC) was created in 1995, just two weeks after the base was recommended to be closed.^[1]

The base was formally closed on September 30, 1997.^[2] The Lubbock Reese Redevelopment Committee was renamed the Redevelopment Authority (LRRA) and could now execute contracts for base property. This committee was composed of local government officials and area businesspeople. ^{[citation needed]}

In the years since the base closed, the use of per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by the USAF there has been investigated. Before the base closed, Air Force Firefighters were trained there to extinguish fires using foam containing PFAS. After using this substance for many years at the base, it began seeping into the groundwater. The Air Force is continually checking bases for PFAS to this day. Past Reese AFB residents are entitled to compensation if found to the following toxins: Testicular cancer, Renal (kidney) cancer, and Prostate cancer.^[3]

Wind technology research facility

The Reese Technology Center is presently home to the Scaled Wind Farm Technology (SWiFT) Facility, a collaborative research facility with the following research partners:^[4]

• Texas Tech
• The National Wind Institute
• Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) for the Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) of the U.S. Department of Energy^[5]
• Vestas, a Danish wind turbine company^[6]
• Group NIRE, which is a renewable energy corporation created in 2010 by Texas Tech.^[7]

Related facilities

Along with the SWiFT Facility, the center also houses the following for the National Wind Institute's research:

• The Wind Engineering Research Field Laboratory (WERFL)^[8]
• VorTECH, which is designed to simulate tornadic winds of about 150 miles per hour or less.^[9]

See also

• Llano Estacado
• West Texas