Here at Texas Green Rangers, we have blogged about solar and wind energy quite a bit. While these two kinds of renewable energy are prominent in the Lone Star State, we feel it is important for y’all to know that our state also has the ability to generate even more clean energy from other sources.

Hydropower

While hydropower is the most common source of renewable electricity in the United States, it only accounts for 1% of Texas’ electric power today. Hydropower reached its peak in Texas in the 1930’s when it was one of the most important forms of generated energy that brought lots of jobs and electricity to the state.

Hydroelectric power is generated from the force of falling or moving water, most often from dammed water in lakes and reservoirs falling through turbines that connect to a generator.

Another way to generate hydroelectric power comes from “pumped storage” where water moves from a lower-elevation reserve to a higher-elevation reserve where the water is released during peak power demand times. The water financial gain of this process is higher than the cost of pumping water at non-peak times but the electricity generated from the process is less than what is consumed moving the water. As of 2006, Texas had 23 dams producing hydroelectric power. The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) currently operates six dams, all of which are used for hydroelectric power in times of peak demand. During operation, the six dams can generate up to 292 megawatts (MW) of energy, or 2 percent of LCRA’s annual need.

Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is a form of energy gained from internal heat in rocks deep in the earth. This is an especially important form of energy because it is essentially always available and can never be used up completely. In the United States, it is the third largest source of renewable energy.

There are two main ways to generate geothermal energy. One way is to drill wells to produce electricity from heated water or by using the surface heat from the earth to heat and cool buildings. The second option is typically done with the help of geothermal heat pumps. More than 10,000 residential geothermal heat pumps have been installed. These pumps are one of the simplest non-electric ways to use the energy, 70% used by the pump is renewable and the remaining 30% is electric energy used to transport the geothermal energy. In addition, over 160 schools in Texas have installed geothermal H-VAC systems as an alternative to conventional H-VACs. SECO estimates that using the earth’s temperature to cool and heat buildings could potentially reduce energy spending by up to 50%. Geopressured-geothermal energy, hot steam, hot dry rock, and magma have potential to be renewable energy sources for Texas. There are at least five major regions in Texas with significant potential for geothermal energy, though water availability, extraction and disposal are likely limitations to fully taking advantage of this energy source.

Obviously, Texas has great potential to become a beacon for renewable resources in the United States. We should continue to push to expand these green energy sources so we can move towards a greener future for our great state.

Edited by: Maddie