Texas Has Enough Sun and Wind To Quit Coal, Rice Researchers Say (houstonchronicle.com)

According to new research from Rice University, Texas has enough natural patterns of wind and sun to operate without coal. "Scientists found that between wind energy from West Texas and the Gulf Coast, and solar energy across the state, Texas could meet a significant portion of its electricity demand from renewable power without extensive battery storage," reports Houston Chronicle. "The reason: These sources generate power at different times of day, meaning that coordinating them could replace production from coal-fired plants." From the report: Texas is the largest producer of wind energy in the United States, generating about 18 percent of its electricity from wind. Most of the state's wind turbines are located in West Texas, where the wind blows the strongest at night and in the early spring, when demand is low. The resource, however, can be complemented by turbines on the Gulf Coast, where wind produces the most electricity on late afternoons in the summer, when power demand is the highest. Solar energy, a small, but rapidly growing segment of the state's energy mix, also has the advantage of generating power when it is needed most -- hot, sunny summer afternoons.

In the summer, Gulf Coast wind generation could overtake West Texas wind capacity from about 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. when sea breezes kick in, Rice research showed. From about 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., solar power average capacity also could exceed wind generation in West Texas, which increases as evening turns to night. In the winter, winds in West Texas strengthen and generation increases, dropping off about 9 a.m., when solar energy begins to ramp up. "It's all a matter of timing," said Dan Woodfin, senior director of system operations at the state's grid manager, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Weather, however, remains unpredictable. Texas would still need battery storage and natural gas-fired power plants to fill in gaps when, for example, winds might slacken earlier than expected.

Comments

Please, stop the ignorance

[Texmaize]

Sad you got modded up for that thoughtless tripe.

Guessing by your comment, you are not a real engineer or involved in the energy sector at all. If there were truly a magic bean that we could use to reliably supply power at a competitive cost, it would be done. In fact, in regions where it really is possible, such projects as solar, wind etc are put into place. The bald truth is that the energy density of fossil fuels is really high, the level of engineering of the generators is really good and highly efficient, and the reliability of production is amazing.

The idea that there is a cartel of evil men twirling their mustaches saying, "WE LOVE TO POLLUTE AND WILL CRUSH ALL IN FAVOR OF CHEAPER, CLEANER POWE, mu hahahahahah." is just the stuff of (bad) cartoons. Perhaps, you need to grow up and leave such trivial thinking, like the cartoons behind.