Comment by mbostleman
1 year ago
I worked on a solar project a number of years back that was one of the first that was actually independently financially sustainable. It was in west Texas in an area that had a highly distributed population and very hot summers. So the existing energy sources were already higher than normal and had the added dimension of spiking demand. Perfect environment for solar to be competitive.
Except the politics of texas being pro oil and anti-renewable?
Texas is certainly pro-oil but it's also a top state for renewable electricity production. It has the most installed wind power of any state and is number two for solar power, behind only California:
https://windexchange.energy.gov/maps-data/321
https://www.statista.com/statistics/183531/renewables-in-the...
In most states, with regulated utility monopolies that present a very limited menu of options for regulators to select from, the politics of the utility management and the regulatory board are important drivers on the generation mix. But also profit, and utilities make more profit with higher prices under the regulated monopoly model.
In Texas, with an open market for generators, profit is the primary driver of the generation mix. But the difference is electricity generators make more profit with lower cost generation methods, the exact opposite of regulated utilities.
You are correct. They regularly pass laws and regulations with the clear intent to hobble renewables rollout.
https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/power-grid-adviso...
They'd likely be doing much better if not for that.
I know I am correct, why is why getting -4 karma shows how silly HN is
> politics of texas being pro oil and anti-renewable
Pro-profit is an irresistible force against most other forces