Public officials throughout Texas are setting very large renewable energy goals. Renewable power provides cleaner air, less risk and significantly lowers operational costs.
Photo by Living Off Grid licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Austin Energy says it will obtain more than half of its power from renewable resources by 2025. Denton Municipal Electric announced that 70 percent of the utility’s electricity would come from wind and solar by 2019. Those are bold moves!
San Antonio’s city-owned utility CPS Energy plans to add 1,500 megawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2020, and the city plans to construct the world’s largest solar installation. Officials in Georgetown say the city will procure all – repeat, ALL – of its electricity from solar and wind energy by 2017. That is an even bolder statement.
Fort Hood broke ground on the Army’s first renewable energy project this month. The military base project, located in Texas, will be the size of 10 football fields and is projected to save the Army $168 million over the next 30 years. The military world will be watching.
While many Texas cities are exhibiting visionary leadership, the same types of announcements are being made by public officials throughout the United States. Earlier this month, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a $5 billion investment in clean energy. Working with private-sector partners, the governor believes the state can obtain 50 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by the year 2030.
Texas, currently #1 in wind power, is counted as a national leader in renewable energy. The state generates more than two and a half times the amount of energy capacity as second place California. However, Texas has lagged behind other states in solar energy, but that may be changing. Solar power is more attractive now because the cost for solar panels has declined almost 80 percent since 2009. Natural gas, however, is still the most common resource for power plants in Texas. Hydropower has been prevalent in Texas since the 1930s and the state has landfills that produce methane gas which is used to make electricity.
The spending bill that was passed by Congress last December renewed tax incentives for renewable energy. Most expected the incentives to lapse in 2016, but when that didn’t happen, many cities and states stepped up their efforts to move to renewable energy sources.
President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan includes stringent mandates regarding carbon emission standards. However, implementation of the plan has been challenged in the federal court system by 27 states, including Texas. If, or when, the plan is implemented, renewable energy projects to produce cleaner air will move even quicker.
The trend in power generation is clear. Coal isn’t obsolete, but neither is capacity being added. Natural gas will likely remain a primary source of electric power in Texas, but wind and solar power are emerging as attractive, long-term options.
Whatever happens, it appears that public officials and taxpayers in Texas are committed to energy innovation. That’s something to make all Texans proud!