\n\n“Clean energy is rapidly rising on the Texas power grid, but regulators in the Lone Star State are now considering a plan that could give fossil fuels a boost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The zero greenhouse gas emissions trio \u2014 wind, solar, and nuclear energy \u2014 provided more than 40 percent of electricity in the state in 2022. It was a year when several Texas cities experienced their hottest summers on record<\/a>, driving electricity demand to its highest levels<\/a> ever as fans and air conditioners switched on. Winter proved stressful too, with freezing temperatures last month pushing winter electricity peaks to record-high levels<\/a>, narrowly avoiding outages<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Texas leads the US<\/a> in oil and natural gas production, but it\u2019s also number one in wind<\/a> power. Solar production in the state has almost tripled in the past three years. Part of the reason is that Texas is particularly suited to renewable energy on its grid. Wind turbines and solar panels in Texas have a high degree of \u201ccomplementarity<\/a>,\u201d so shortfalls in one source are often matched by increases in another, smoothing out power production and reducing the need for other generators to step in. That has eased the integration of intermittent energy sources on the grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coal, meanwhile, has lost more than half of its share in Texas since 2006. For a long time and across much of the country, the story was that cheap natural gas from hydraulic fracturing<\/a> was eating coal\u2019s lunch on the power grid. Coal was also facing tougher environmental regulations like stricter limits on mercury<\/a>, requiring coal power plants to upgrade their equipment, and raising electricity production costs.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n “in Texas, natural gas\u2019s share of the electricity mix has been holding around 40 percent<\/a> for more than a decade. On the other hand, renewable energy has surged as coal withered. Wind alone started beating out coal in 2019 and is now the second-largest source of electricity<\/a> behind natural gas in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An important factor is that the state has its own internal power grid, serving 26 million customers and meeting 90 percent of its electricity demand. It\u2019s managed by the nonprofit Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT<\/a>. In the freewheeling Texas energy market, the cheapest sources of electricity become dominant, and wind and solar \u2014 with low construction costs, rapid build times, and zero fuel expenses \u2014 have emerged as winners.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Some lawmakers are now working to tilt the balance toward fossil fuels. \u201cThere are different political figures who are trying to incentivize gas power plants or deny, prohibit, or inhibit renewables,\u201d Webber said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, the Texas legislature passed a law that would prevent the state\u2019s retirement and investment funds from doing business with companies that \u201cboycott\u201d fossil fuels<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said one of his legislative priorities for this year<\/a> is to secure more support for natural gas-fired generation. \u201cWe have to level the playing field so that we attract investment in natural gas plants,\u201d Patrick said during a press conference last November. \u201cWe can\u2019t leave here next spring unless we have a plan for more natural gas power.\u201d”<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n “While wind and solar power are ascendant, they are intermittent, and regulators want to make sure there is enough dispatchable power like natural gas to ramp up on still, cloudy days. The new proposal would create a credit scheme that would encourage more of these dispatchable plants to come online and extend a lifeline to some existing generators that are struggling to compete. But it would also raise the costs of electricity production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Environmental groups like the Sierra Club<\/a> noted that the proposal leaves the door open for other tactics for balancing electricity supply and demand, like energy storage, increasing energy efficiency, and demand response.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n