Facing unprecedented load growth due to population increases and energy-intensive industries, Texas lawmakers are reevaluating their energy strategies by incorporating diverse energy resources, including renewables. The Texas Tribune spoke with clean energy experts, including Matthew Boms, Executive Director of United's state affiliate Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA), who encouraged the use of advanced energy technologies to meet rising electricity demand within the state.
The recent expansion of renewable energy in Texas has helped stave off crises since the grid came close to catastrophic collapse in February 2021 when Uri plunged millions of Texans into darkness and left hundreds of people dead.
Texas increased its energy supply by 35% over the last four years, Abbott said in his State of the State address in February. A whopping 92% of that new supply, according to energy consultant Doug Lewin, came from solar, wind and battery storage.
Texas added more battery storage capacity than any other state last year, and, excluding California, now has more battery capacity than the rest of the country combined. The state installed around 9,700 megawatts of new solar generation last year and 1,735 megawatts of wind power, according to a January report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Solar power and battery storage set records last summer, providing nearly 25% of electricity needs in the middle of the day, according to the Dallas Fed’s report.
Texas also added 3,410 megawatts of gas-fueled power last year after losing 2,172 megawatts in 2023. The Electricity Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s main grid operator, estimates that 1 megawatt of electricity can power around 250 homes.
These additions meant that ERCOT didn’t have to issue a single emergency alert last year during the sixth-hottest summer on record in Texas. In 2023, during the state’s second-hottest summer, ERCOT issued 11 alerts asking Texans to conserve energy.
The grid also made it through several cold snaps this winter with plenty of supply on hand — though experts warn that solar plays a smaller role in meeting peak demand during the winter. Weatherization requirements the Public Utility Commission imposed on power plants after Winter Storm Uri also contributed to greater resiliency on the grid.
On top of increased reliability, renewable energy resources saved Texas power consumers around $11 billion in the last two years, according to a report by IdeaSmiths LLC, an energy analytics firm, that was funded by pro-renewables trade groups.
“These resources materially contribute to having enough power on the system and also being able to do it most affordably,” said Bryn Baker, senior director of policy innovation at the Texas Energy Buyers Alliance. “Being able to maintain the ability for all resources to play in the market is critical for Texas to maintain its energy leadership, as well as economic leadership.”
Energy demand expected to soar
Despite those gains, ERCOT predicts that Texas’ energy demand will nearly double by 2030, with power supply projected to fall short of peak demand in a worst-case scenario beginning in summer 2026.
That surge in demand is being driven by population demand, more extreme heat and cold, and an influx of large power users, such as crypto mining facilities, artificial intelligence-related data centers and electrifying oil and gas field operations.
State lawmakers have looked to boost natural gas-fueled generation — in 2023 they established the $5 billion Texas Energy Fund, which offers low-interest taxpayer funded loans to incentivize construction of new gas-powered plants. But those plants take years to build. New advanced nuclear technology at scale is also years away, even as the state’s top leaders throw their support behind the burgeoning industry.
As a result, experts warned, Texas can’t afford to block any forms of generation, including renewables.
“We’re going to need every megawatt that we can get, from every generation resource that we can get,” Michael Jewell, an energy attorney and expert, said. “Legislative proposals that would discourage the continued development of every resource — that’s anti-energy.”
Renewable energy advocates hope that message is getting through to lawmakers as they grapple with how to meet soaring demand this legislative session. They emphasize that they are not against gas-fueled generation, and that Texas needs a mix of resources to grow its grid.
“I think, and I hope, and I pray that the conversation has changed,” said Matthew Boms, executive director of the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance. “With those kind of numbers, the whole conversation changes from, ‘What should the mix look like?’ to a different conversation, which is how we’re going to meet all of this load growth.”
Renewable energy projects benefit lawmakers’ districts
Renewables proponents also point to the millions of dollars in tax revenue that solar, wind and battery storage projects funnel into local school districts and communities — many of them in the districts of key lawmakers.
In House Speaker Dustin Burrows’ district — which includes parts of Lubbock and its surrounding counties — existing solar, wind and storage projects are projected to pay around $94 million in local tax revenues over their lifetimes, according to the IdeaSmiths report.
The district of Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown and chair of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee, is poised to see $499 million in local tax revenues from existing solar and storage projects. And Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo and chair of the House Energy Resources Committee, represents a district expected to see $293 million in local tax revenues from renewable energy.
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