An economic boom in Texas—fueled by people and corporate giants relocating to America’s oil and gas hub—is sparking a surge in solar projects in the state.
A record amount of solar capacity is planned for the Lone Star State one year after a deadly winter storm crippled its electrical grid and threatened to undermine a clean-energy boom. Texas will see more solar generation come online this year than any other state in the country, according to Energy Information Administration data.
The solar surge is a testament to the mounting appeal of sun-based electricity to power daytime operations of companies. Texas is expected to see unprecedented electricity demand growth during the next two years to satisfy the needs of enterprises flocking to the state—including crypto miners. Much of that demand will be met with new generation from renewable energy sources, even if not everything planned gets built.
The state’s grid operator, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, expects crypto mining alone to account for several gigawatts of new demand in that period. Peak power demand next year will be 7.7% above 2021 levels, Ercot data show.
Some oil and natural gas operators in Texas already rely on solar power, and the sun’s energy may prove useful for the flurry of big companies including Tesla Inc., Oracle Corp., and Charles Schwab Corp. that have relocated headquarters to the state in the past two years. Still, much of Texas today relies on power produced from natural gas and wind, followed by coal and nuclear. Solar accounted for 3.8% of the generating capacity of the state’s power grid in December.Read More…
Source : bloombergquint
