Texas uses wind resources to its advantage making a boom in the economy and bold move to clean energy.
When you think about wind energy, Texas probably isn’t the first place that comes to mind. Believe it or not, Texas is actually the leading nation in producing wind energy. Texas has widely been known for its oil and gas industry, but with the help of the strong winds in West Texas, Texas has catapulted itself to the top of wind power. Since wind energy has become a huge part of the Texas economy, I think it’s important to understand how Texas became the Nation’s leader in wind energy. Click here to see a chart of Texas’ broken down energy use.
West Texas
One reason why wind energy has been so successful in Texas is because of the way that the transmission has been engineered to move the electricity from remote regions to more populous areas. The overall wind energy production is only expected to increase and produce more and more of the state’s electricity as an advancing technology allows for more electricity to be used from the turbines. To see how wind turbines work, click here.
What about coal?
Since wind technology has advanced, the cost of electricity that has come from wind turbines have already dropped about one-third over the past nine years. This has come after coal-fired power plants have shut down due to the lowering costs of cleaner energy. Last year wind surpassed coal in generating capacity. In 2017, wind generated about 15% of the electricity in Texas, which went up from less than 13% in 2016 according to the Energy Department.
What’s the future of wind energy in Texas?
The future of wind energy in Texas is expected to continue to grow, the only problem is a matter of where the wind farms will be built. Texans are excited that wind energy is both a clean source of energy and good for the economy, the only concerns reside in what land will be used for wind farms and how will the growing economy will be regulated.
You can find us on Twitter @TexasGreenRangers1 where you can plan on seeing weekly updates and helpful resources on how you can help our state become greener. Another source to look to if you have any questions is our Facebook group.