Texas: The Next Solar Superpower?

By Michael E. Webber and Erin M. Keys

As the nation's largest energy consumer, leading CO2 emitter and stronghold of the traditional energy industry, Texas might seem an unlikely candidate to be the world's solar market leader. But with an expansive solar resource, recent success with wind power, extensive natural gas installations, competitive electricity markets and a commitment to build new transmission capacity, Texas might become just that.

Because of that "old energy" reputation, many overlook the state's leadership in the green revolution. Since 2006, when it overtook California, Texas has installed more wind capacity than any other state. At the end of April, Texas had more wind power installed than the next five leading states combined (Iowa, California, Minnesota, Washington and Oregon). The startling pace of installation over the last decade has meant that enough wind turbines to generate 9,000 megawatts of power should be online by the end of this year. If we once again consider Texas its own nation, its installed wind capacity is surpassed by only a handful of other countries in the world.

Read the full article and find out why solar is the future in Texas >


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