According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), solar is on track to become the world’s largest electricity source by 2050. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) published similar projections.
Wind power – another promising renewable – is similarly expected to continue to grow, generating 18% of the world’s electricity by 2050.
Comparing global trends to the Texas market
Although these trends focus on global energy production, we are seeing similar, if not faster, growth in Texas. And it’s not surprising!
The stars at night may be big and bright, but we all know that Texas receives abundant year-round sunshine, making solar the go-to choice for many project developers. Furthermore, as the state continues to decommission older energy producing assets (like coal plants – 25% of ERCOT’s coal generation has been retired), resulting in grid electricity prices trending upwards. As it stands today, nearly 1900 MW of installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity sites are spread across the state, making Texas a Top 10 solar hotspot (pun intended).
What surprises most of my clients is how much of an impact Texas is making with regards to wind power. Pitted up against whole countries, our state is the 4th largest wind energy producer in the world!
Texas’ Concerns about Solar and Wind
Thanks to renewable investments, Texas generated nearly 20% of its energy from wind and solar power in 2017. Not bad for a state whose past is synonymous with oil and ten gallon hats! But if green technologies are cheaper, cleaner, and all but inevitable, why isn’t the state even more invested in these renewables?
The answer is simple: both wind and solar are weighed down by intermittency. If it’s cloudy, or smog levels are high, solar won’t be as effective. And of course, at night it doesn’t work at all. Likewise, some days there may be light or no wind.
Bottom line, solar and wind are unpredictable, and that makes scaling up these technologies difficult. They’ve helped meet peak demand, but neither has yet been suitable for load capacity….until now.
The Solution for Solar and Wind in Texas
The key to harnessing solar and wind’s potential is something we’ve all used––a battery. While the basic technology has been around awhile, in the past energy storage was too expensive and unreliable for practical application. Today, however, it is becoming increasingly affordable and efficient as utility scale battery storage becomes a reality; and we have Electric vehicles (EVs) to thank.
As EVs have become popular, the demand for better, cheaper storage options has also grown. Investments, of course, have followed suit. Tesla alone is directing $5 billon toward the development of its batteries; they’ve even launched a renewables division.
As batteries continue to become more efficient, less expensive, and capable of handling larger storage loads, there will be nothing holding solar and wind back from exponential growth. The technology will be able to able to capture energy when sun and wind are abundant and release it ‘round the clock, all year long. So when the stars are shining big and bright, Texans will soon be using solar storage power. When that happens, the ROI will be impossible to calculate!
