By Drew O'Bryan
Although news may have seemed pretty dismal this year in general, the expansion of clean energy gives me hope going into 2018! Wind power in Texas hit an all-time high in 2017, providing over 25 percent of all electricity production in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market during the month of March and 17 percent of all electricity production in 2017. Aswind continued to jockey with natural gas and coal as a top producer in Texas, solar power established itself as a price-competitive way of generating power. I recently wrote this month about two new solar programs in Central Texas, run by Austin Energy and Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC), which are saving customers money and paving the way for an equitable renewable energy future. In PEC's case, the savings benefit every single customer that enters the community solar program. With solar now staking its claim as a true competitor with traditional electric generators, we can expect to see it follow in wind's footsteps in the near future.
It's almost unbelievable how quickly our state is transitioning away from coal power with help from renewables. It's no coincidence that a wave of clean power is coming online during the same time that Luminant Energy is preparing to retire three major coal plants. But the transition from fossil fuel generators that run at all hours (or close to it) to more intermittent sources like wind and solar does mean that we will need a more complicated system to handle daily changes in electricity production. Luckily, energy storage has begun its own rapid development. 2018 will be a fascinating year to see how well storage pilot projects around the globe can compliment wind and solar power, including the SHINES program in Austin.
Clean energy aside, my favorite memory of the year was seeing the total solar eclipse from on top of a mountain near Thermopolis, Wyoming. It was the moment where I felt most in tune with the planet and the natural beauty we are all working to preserve. Recognizing that I was one of millions of people staring up at the sky that day was a fantastic reminder of how we can all appreciate the wonder our fragile planet has to offer.
I'm hopeful that 2018 will continue along 2017's trajectory for clean energy. If Texas is honest about "letting the market decide" where our energy comes from, then solar, wind, and energy storage are no-brainers for our energy future as prices continue to fall and projects world-wide show us just how well the transition clean energy future can function. We'll continue working to make sure that utilities and rulemakers are ready for that transition and that Texas can lead the nation on our way there.