Texas added a lot of renewable energy power in the third quarter of 2021. In fact, more than any other state in the third quarter: 1,679 megawatts. No other state even came close to this number.
“Texas has a lot of advantages when it comes to renewable technology. The resources from a wind and solar standpoint are quite good, and there are a lot more places to build these projects and expand the footprint in Texas compared to other states,” John Hensley, vice president of research and analytics for the American Clean Power Association, told The Houston Chronicle.
California added 389 megawatts and Wyoming added 301 megawatts. Texas now has the second largest amount of installed utility solar power, 14%, in the nation, second only to California. Texas represents 17% of total renewable projects in the development pipeline – tops in the nation, followed by California (11%), Indiana (5%), New Mexico, (4%) and New York (3%).
Projects in offshore waters equal 14% of the total. The Public Utility Commission of Texas is expected to release its redesign of the state’s power market this month and the market could be significantly changed in the light of Winter Storm Uri. That may stem the growth of renewable energy in the state.
Gov. Greg Abbott blamed the February storm-related outages on power sources generated by renewable energy, but the Houston Chronicle reports the outages were mostly caused by issues with coal and gas-burning power plants. Wind and solar power generators received subsidies of around $27.1 billion from local, state and federal subsidies and incentives, according to The Energy Alliance’s Bill Peacock. A University of Texas study projected that Texas-only subsidies for oil and gas were $1.8 billion, $1 billion for wind and $19 million for solar, as reported by Texas Monthly.
