 As of July 2008, Nolan County generated more wind energy than the entire state of California, and would have ranked sixth in the world for wind power generation if it were counted as its own country.A branch of Texas State Technical College operates near Sweetwater offering the first community college program for wind energy in Texas beginning in 2007.Wind energy investments in the county of about $3 billion US dollars since 1999 have resulted in about 1,330 direct wind-related jobs which were created in Nolan County alone (in 2009), with almost $18,000,000 in annual landowner royalties and over $12,000,000 in annual local school taxes (2007), and about $1.7 million more in county property taxes.