February 27, 2019

More Renewables Without Storage In Texas

Listen Later

2 minutes

Texas has a Texas-sized appetite for electricity and relies most heavily on natural gas, coal and nuclear power to get it. But in recent times, wind power has grown tremendously in the Lone Star State and it has already leapfrogged past nuclear power. Coal could be the next domino to fall.

In the past few years, solar power has become competitive with wind in

terms of price. Texas is a large,

coastal state in the sunny southwestern U.S. and has significant solar

resources. As a result, the amount of solar

power in Texas is now growing rapidly.

In order for a combination of solar and wind power to address the bulk

of electricity demand in Texas, there needs to be a way to provide reliability

that these intermittent sources don’t necessarily provide. Energy storage is a solution that ultimately is

likely to be part of most electricity grids, but currently it is still

expensive on a utility scale.

A new study from Rice University looked at the complementarity of

solar and wind power in Texas.

Complementarity refers to balancing the output of solar and wind

systems. The peak performance of wind

and solar occurs at very different times in different regions of the

state. The study suggests that the right

mix of solar and wind systems in the right parts of Texas could provide a continuously

reliable energy system. On both a yearly

and daily basis, wind and solar power resources in Texas complement each other

in terms of peak performance. It is a

matter of locating the solar power and wind farms in the right places.

With the Texas solar industry really starting to boom, there is a real

opportunity to integrate far more renewable energy into the Texas grid.

**********

Web Links

More Renewables with Less Energy Storage: Texas Shows How

Photo, posted June 8, 2018, courtesy of Laura Lee Dooley via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

...more

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Earth Wise

By Randy Simon

4.7

1515 ratings

February 27, 2019

More Renewables Without Storage In Texas

Listen Later

2 minutes

Texas has a Texas-sized appetite for electricity and relies most heavily on natural gas, coal and nuclear power to get it. But in recent times, wind power has grown tremendously in the Lone Star State and it has already leapfrogged past nuclear power. Coal could be the next domino to fall.

In the past few years, solar power has become competitive with wind in

terms of price. Texas is a large,

coastal state in the sunny southwestern U.S. and has significant solar

resources. As a result, the amount of solar

power in Texas is now growing rapidly.

In order for a combination of solar and wind power to address the bulk

of electricity demand in Texas, there needs to be a way to provide reliability

that these intermittent sources don’t necessarily provide. Energy storage is a solution that ultimately is

likely to be part of most electricity grids, but currently it is still

expensive on a utility scale.

A new study from Rice University looked at the complementarity of

solar and wind power in Texas.

Complementarity refers to balancing the output of solar and wind

systems. The peak performance of wind

and solar occurs at very different times in different regions of the

state. The study suggests that the right

mix of solar and wind systems in the right parts of Texas could provide a continuously

reliable energy system. On both a yearly

and daily basis, wind and solar power resources in Texas complement each other

in terms of peak performance. It is a

matter of locating the solar power and wind farms in the right places.

With the Texas solar industry really starting to boom, there is a real

opportunity to integrate far more renewable energy into the Texas grid.

**********

Web Links

More Renewables with Less Energy Storage: Texas Shows How

Photo, posted June 8, 2018, courtesy of Laura Lee Dooley via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

...more