Gains for renewable sources of electricity
Texas is creating an increasing amount of power from renewable sources as more solar generation comes on line, wind power continues to grow and coal becomes an increasingly less important source of electricity for the state.
So far this year, 25 percent of electricity in Texas was generated from wind, solar, hydropower and biomass, compared with 20 percent in 2018, according to data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state grid manager. In April alone, 29 percent of power in Texas was generated by renewable sources, according to ERCOT.
One of the biggest factors is the surge of large-scale solar projects, which include retailers and manufacturers installing solar panels to provide backup power and give them the option to sell energy into the grid when power prices spike. Solar production set a record in April, when Texas generated 408 gigawatt-hours of solar power, surpassing the 368 generated in July. One gigawatt provides enough electricity for about 700,000 homes.
Development of wind projects has also been accelerating, supported by federal subsidies that have helped make Texas the nation’s biggest producer of wind power and lowered electricity prices for Texas households and businesses. Twenty-three percent of power this year in Texas has come from wind, compared with 19 percent last year and 17 percent in the previous year, according to ERCOT.
Coal-fired plants are having trouble competing with low-cost wind and solar energy, and several have announced plans to shut down, including Gibbons Creek Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant about 20 miles from Bryan near College Station. The plant notified ERCOT this year that it would suspend operations indefinitely of its 470-megawatt plant. The announcement follows the shutdown last year of three coal plants with a combined generation capacity of more than 4,000 megawatts — enough to power 800,000 Texas homes — by Irving-based Vistra Energy.
Coal-fired power has generated 22 percent of electricity this year in Texas, down from 25 percent last year and 32 percent in 2017, according to ERCOT.