For seemingly as long as we can remember, Texas has been synonymous with the oil and gas industry because of the state’s natural resources.

But Roger Duncan, a research fellow with the Energy Institute,  can see a day when Texas is just as well known for wind, solar and other renewable energy sources and for the very same reason— the state’s natural resource.  Strong winds out of West Texas and the Gulf of Mexico have made the state the biggest producer of wind energy in the United States.

While the state is just scratching the surface in solar energy it seems a given with the summer heat Texas is known for that once the infrastructure is in place the state will compete well with solar-dominant states like California and Hawaii.

“We have had as much energy potential and resources in solar and wind as we have in oil and gas so it’s a natural thing. It comes down to the fact West Texas has a tremendous amount of resource that is cheap to tap both in wind and solar,” said Duncan, who is also a research associate at the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Texas at Austin. “The advances in technology will make the solar, especially, an even stronger competitor.

“Eventually, all of the states are going to be getting into solar at some point, but you just look at the map and the wind corridor states are going to be the business leaders in wind and so forth and Texas has both.”

A recent study by Rice University professor Daniel Cohan and his student Joanna Slusarewicz revealed how Texas is poised to become a renewable giant due in large part because of its unique status as one of the only states where a natural pattern of wind and sun can essentially produce power 24 hours a day.

Wind turbines out of West Texas blow strongest at night and early in the spring when energy demand is at its lowest. Then turbines off the Gulf Coast produce the most amount of electricity during the late afternoons during the summer when power demand is at its peak. Solar energy can fill in the gaps because its energy is generated when most needed, which is during heated summer afternoons.

This would further reduce the need for coal-fired plants, which are already on a rapid decline due to the expense compared to these cheaper clean energy resources.

Texas is the largest producer of wind energy in the nation, generating about 18% of its electricity from wind. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Texas currently has about 22,000 megawatts of wind capacity and that is expected to increase to 38,000 megawatts by 2030. A megawatt can power 200 homes in during the Texas heat.

Solar is where Texas lags behind other states of similar size in the U.S. Texas only gets 1% of its energy from solar sources, which still qualifies it as the sixth largest solar energy state with 2,500 megawatts of capacity last year. But the anticipation is that capacity will triple by 2024.

The issue now is the need for more transmission lines that move energy from both wind and solar sources simultaneously.

“They will remain leaders,” Duncan said. “I assume everything gets built out at some point and that time just because of the size of the state and its location, Texas and California will be leaders. Then you have some other states that will be leaders in wind in their corridors.”

Still, the natural question in a state known for its production of oil and gas and reliance on dirty coal and the volatility of natural gas, is how will both coexist? Duncan believes the oil industry will be left mostly unaffected by the growth of renewable clean energy but does see the growing energy nudging in on the territory of the volatile natural gas industry at some.

Others, however, believe the coexistence of both industries in the state will force each become better through competition.

“I actually think Texas has been extremely receptive to solar and renewable power,” said Sargon Daniel, who is a Dallas-based solar developer. “We wouldn’t be the leading wind generating state if we weren’t. I think that Texas’ business environment, Texas receptivity in Texas electricity markets lends itself very much to an open and healthy market for renewable.”

Daniel, whose company Nexus Ventures focuses on solar development primarily in Texas, says both industries can actually complement each other through competition.

“So part of the reason to me that Texas has been so successful with oil and gas is that it incentivizes production and it creates this environment where you need to be able to compete on your economic merits of your projects and so,” said Daniel, who has a background in securities/M&A and energy law.  “I think Texas has borne itself to that quite a bit over the past 100 years and especially over the past few years in the Permian. And then it’s equally so for renewable. It’s not that Texas has created some unlevel playing field. If anything it has said, `we’re a business friendly environment and if you can make business sense of what you are doing then we are going to establish markets that do that.’”

As result, Daniel says there is a healthy investment market for solar and wind and a lot of interest in the state.

“I think what it really does, that healthy investment interest together with the Texas business market and the electricity markets really force us as developers to focus on putting our best foot forward and making the most compelling economic argument and business argument we can make to business investors,” Daniel said.  “It’s a vibrant market and in a vibrant market you are going to have competition and you going to have very, very, smart people all throughout that market who push you to be as good as you can be.

“I think it’s great that there is interest, I think it’s great that we are all forced to be innovative and be as good as we can in every aspect of our business.”

As for the future of solar, wind and other renewable sources, Daniel believes the future is bright. Cleaner energy is cheaper and will become even more cost effective as the build out expands, which means it’s not only an improvement for the environment but for the consumers’ pockets, as well.

“With any industry as it continues to mature it gets more competitive and we have to really be really thoughtful about how we carve out our little niche to be able to succeed,” he said. “I think there is a great opportunity for renewable to continue to grow in Texas, especially solar.”

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