The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a report with projections that 2023 will have the largest shift in generation mix for the Texas energy region (ERCOT) as wind and solar both grow but coal and natural gas production fall.
This directly goes against what Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Legislature have requested be done.
According to the EIA report, the Texas region likely will see a shift in its generation blend next year. In fact, EIA Administrator Joe DeCarolis tweeted that the agency expects “renewable energy to play a larger role in meeting electricity demand in Texas (ERCOT) next year (2022 to 2023): Wind: 25% to 29% Solar: 5% to 8%.”
“We expect that the share of electric power generation from wind in ERCOT will grow from 25% in 2022 to 29% in 2023 and that the solar share will grow from 5% to 8%,” according to the report. “ERCOT’s share of generation from coal in the forecast falls from 17% this year to 16% in 2023. But we expect growing generation from renewables, especially during peak hours, will cause the natural gas share to fall from 42% in 2022 to 36% in 2023.”
According to Abbott's website, the governor wrote a formal letter last year, ordering the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) to move to increase the reliability of the state’s power grid. These efforts would include streamline incentives to drive the development of reliable energy options, including gas, coal and nuclear power, Abbott said on the site.
Abbott also wrote that ERCOT should set up a maintenance schedule for coal, nuclear and natural gas as well as electric generators to maintain a steady power supply. Additionally, the governor urged ERCOT to speed up transmission projects to boost connectivity to get energy from power plants to areas of need.
“Texas needs to build new dispatchable energy resources for when the grid is stressed in extreme weather/higher energy use,” State. Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, tweeted. “Unfortunately, PUC's current market design proposal falls short of this fundamental goal. Let’s work together this session to get it right for Texans.”
Moreover, the Texas State Senate Business and Commerce Committee penned a letter (included in Schwertner’s tweet) to the Texas PUC, pointing out how the commission failed to provide any evaluation of the reliability of service lawmakers had requested.
The letter, according to the tweet, urges the PUC to outline reliability goals for the ERCOT region while also developing market-based service to meet new guidelines and unveil performance requirements.
According to a tweet, the EIA, a part of the U.S. Department of Energy, provides independent energy data to guide policy decisions and educate the public.