Outdated Electric Grid Could Hamper Texas Transition to Renewables

At the rate solar and wind power projects are proliferating in Texas, writes Tristan Bove, "it would take only one-third of the solar and wind energy projects that have already been proposed to almost entirely phase out coal in the state, according to a new study by researchers at Houston's Rice University."

Unfortunately, the state's grid may not be equipped to handle the transition at the same rate. According to Daniel Cohan, a study co-author, "Transmission lines are the leading bottleneck that is slowing down the growth of wind and solar."

'Simply put, it's not always windy and not always sunny, but it's almost always windy or sunny somewhere in Texas,' the study's authors wrote in the paper.

But without an extensive and up-to-date network of transmission lines to connect the electricity generated at these farms to cities, Texas’s energy transition will have to wait.

Experts say the grid's outdated infrastructure was to blame for the disastrous failures during last year's intense freeze, when some households lost power for weeks. "As the nation’s largest coal consumer, and biggest electricity consumer in general, how coal is phased out and replaced with clean energy in Texas would be crucial to meeting any nationwide climate agenda and to lead other states in the inevitable energy transition."