|
With its sunny weather, and strong winds, Texas holds great promise for renewable energy. Wind energy, solar
power, biomass energy, and conservation could play large roles in the state's energy mix. The Texas Public Utility Commission's definition of renewable energy is "technology that exclusively
relies on an energy source naturally regenerated over a short time and derived directly or indirectly from sun,wind,geothermal, hydro,wave, tidal energy or biomass/landfill gas."*
|
WIND ENERGY RESOURCE POTENTIAL
|
|
|
|
The energy contained in wind is expressed in terms of wind power classes, ranging
from Class 1 (the least energy) to Class 7 (the greatest energy).
In this map:
Moderate = Class 3, Good = Class 4, and Excellent = Classes 5 to 7
|
|
Source: U.S. Wind Resource Maps: Pacific Northwest Laboratory.
From a brochure produced by the Utility Wind Interest Group at
National Renewable Laboratory, Golden, Colorado.
|
|
Wind
Wind could provide Texas with vast amounts of electricity and may be the best source of
renewable energy. Unlike fossil-fuel-fired power plants, wind-energy plants do not create carbon dioxide or other air pollutants. The windy great Plains from Texas to the
North Dakota contain the greatest wind power potential.
Senate Bill 7, Texas' retail deregulation bill
passed in 1999, included, a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), a plan developed by Environmental Defense, that requires the state's electric retailers to develop
incrementally 2000 MW of new renewable -based power by the year 2009 (This would provide electricity to 650,000 Texas homes.)
Under the RPS, each electric retailer is obligated to a certain amount of renewable
megawatts. The RPS established large penalties for those utilities that do not comply, and also makes it possible for utilities to trade renewable credits. If a retailer does not own
or buy enough renewable energy capacity, the retailer can purchase renewable energy credits in lieu of capacity. At the time of the bill's passage in 1999, Texas had 880 MW of
electricity generated from renewable resources, mostly hydroelectric power. In just a short time, the RPS rule spurred the growth of the wind energy industry in Texas.
In 2000, according Texas based Vitrus Energy
Research Associates, Texas installed more wind power--912 MW-- than the entire United States had installed in any previous year. * This is enough power to power 225,000 homes. This was a direct result of the RPS that the state
required under the retail deregulation bill. The Federal Production Tax Credit, which is worth "nominally" $18/MWh for
the first 10 years of a project has also facilitated the wind energy business. The RPS and the Federal Production Tax
Credit are making wind power competitive to renewables for the utility retailer and the end consumer.* The shortage,
however, of costly transmission lines could slow the growth of the wind industry.
- Texas wind facilities are located primarily in West Texas from the Panhandle to Fort Stockton.
- Texas has a potential to produce 524,800 MW of electricity from wind--one billion KWh.
West Texas landowners are also benefiting from wind farms; many are receiving more royalties from leasing their land
to wind-energy companies than from oil and gas leases. And cattle producers in West Texas might consider the $50 net
revenue per acre for wind, as compared to a $5.00 profit per acre for West Texas cattle.* A landowner can receive
$2000 to $5000 per year per wind turbine.
|
|
2002
|
2009
|
2020
|
|
Installed Megawatts
|
1,103
|
2,000
|
13,400
|
|
Wind's share of Electricity Supply
|
1%
|
1.7%
|
10%
|
|
Landowners Royalties
|
$2.5 Million
|
$4.6 Million
|
$30.8 Million
|
|
Local Taxes Paid
|
13.3 Million
|
$4.6 Million
|
$30.8 Million
|
|
Direct Jobs
|
2,500
|
3,200
|
8,500
|
|
Source: Vitus Energy Researc Associates, Public Citizen Texas. May 2003
|
|
Wind turbines constructed ten or so years ago received criticism for causing bird kills, today's wind turbines have been
constructed to go around very slowly and are built without laced wires, so they are not likely to pose a hazard to flying birds.
Solar
Texas receives enough solar energy to supply one and a half times the world's current energy consumption.* If the entire state of Texas—all 262,000 square miles of it—were covered with solar cells, the state would generate 550
quadrillion BTUs of electrical energy every year. That is equal to one and a half times the total energy used in the world.* Obviously, the state will never be paved with solar cells, but Texas could easily incorporate solar power into
the fuel mix.
|
SOLAR MAP OF TEXAS
|
|
|
|
All numbers are Killowatt Hours per Square Meter Per Hour
|
|
Source: Central and South West Corp.
|
|
Nationally, the solar industry is expanding in part due the "Million Solar Roofs Initiative."
This program's goal is to place one million solar systems on the roofs of commercial and residential buildings by 2010 in order to slow air pollution and global warming.*
Some states also are promoting solar energy. California is giving $54 million in subsidies to
utility companies for solar and other renewable resources, while Arizona is requiring one percent of all new electrical generation to be from solar energy.* The City of San Francisco has also passed a bill setting a goal for solar energy use.
Texas utilities are looking at increased use of solar cells as a low-cost, nonpolluting source
of power generation. For example, the City of Austin's Electric Utility already operates two photovoltaic generating stations that generate 315 kilowatts of electric power, enough to
supply 50 to 100 homes. The utility is expanding this capacity with a new rooftop solar program, making it the largest solar-power producer in the state.
Investor-owned utilities are also making use of solar. Fixed surface solar technology, such as
solar water heaters and off-grid photovolactic panels can be used all over the state, not just in West Texas or Central
Texas, but from Houston to El Paso, from El Paso to Texarkana. But large solar power plants are best suited for West Texas where the sunshine is plentiful.
Solar technology is not yet competitive with natural gas or wind for several reasons'
- solar is about 5 times the price of other power
- fossil fuel users do not pay full cost: fossil fuels receive tax subsidies; fossil fuel users do not pay cost of
enviromental damage, or health costs associated with their use
Hydroelectric Power
The stored energy of water has been used by humans for centuries. Streams and rivers were damned or rerouted to
provide power for milling grain or cutting lumber. Today, dams are an important part of the Texas economy, providing
water for irrigation and recreation as well as electricity for industrial and residential use.
Hydropower in Texas accounts for one percent or approximately 640 megawatts of electric generating capacity.* While that is only a fraction of the state's total electric needs, these hydropower facilities are nonpolluting and provide reliable
power. However, dams do destroy aquatic habitat and free-flowing streams that provide recreational opportunities as
well as freshwater inflow to Texas's bays and estuaries.There might be 1000 MW of undeveloped hydro power, but this is not being contemplated for development.
Biomass
Biomass energy is produced from converting garbage to methane, burning materials to produce heat to generate
electricity, and fermenting agricultural waste to produce ethanol. Half the lumber companies and three-fourths of the
paper companies in Texas burn wood waste to generate power. Texas generates huge amounts of plant and animal
waste that could be used for thermal power generation. There are four projects in Texas that utilize the combustible
waste gases escaping from landfills. Such cities as San Antonio, Dallas, Garland, Waco, and Austin are developing
projects. Every year, Texas produces some two quadrillion BTUs of energy in the form of agricultural wastes, municipal waste, and energy crops.* If all that energy could be recovered, it would be enough to generate two-thirds of all the
electricity used in Texas. The 2002 Farm Bill provides incentives for on-farm energy projects, which, if used, will increase the amount of biomass energy created in the state.
|
