The Texas Energy Fund was controversial from the start. Critics questioned its focus on natural gas after many of the state’s existing gas plants failed during a severe 2021 winter storm, triggering widespread blackouts. Still, Texas lawmakers are expected to double the fund’s size during their current session.
I’m not sure I agree with critics.
First wind & solar have variable electric generation. Second, we do not want more coal generation plants. Third, nuclear generation plant seem to take a decade to build if not more. What is left besides natural gas?
A Texas experiment to fund new natural gas-burning power plants with $5 billion in public loans is faltering as several of the proposed facilities drop out, threatening the state’s efforts to meet growing electricity demand.
Developers say that even with low-interest loans from the state, their projects no longer pencil out due to cost uncertainties and problems procuring equipment. Some have also faulted the program’s strict deadlines and terms.
The fund was touted by lawmakers as a way to jumpstart gas-plant development at a time when cheap solar and wind power have cut into the state’s wholesale electricity prices, reducing the potential profits for new plants.
It’s an unexpected setback for the Texas Energy Fund, a closely watched effort to meet fast-rising power demand with natural gas. State lawmakers established the fund with voter backing in 2023, as a growing population and economy pushed electricity demands to new records and strained supplies. A wave of planned data centers — some of them needing as much power as a small city — promised even faster growth to come.
The effort initially drew 72 project applications
Of the original pool of project applications, 12% have been withdrawn or rejected. Of those invited into due diligence, nearly a third have fallen out.
Incentives won’t necessarily speed up projects. So few gas-fired plants were built in the US in recent years that turbine manufacturers decreased their production capacity, said Andrew Waranch, chief executive officer of battery developer Spearmint Energy. Both Siemens Energy AG and GE Vernova Inc. have warned of multi-year wait times for turbines. “It’s going to take a very long time for the supply chain to catch up,” Waranch said.
My conclusion based on reading this article is that the future electricity demand is likely there. But the turbine supply chain is limited.
Texas seems to have pursued solar electricity generation. But solar cannot provide 24/7 electricity production.
February 13, 2024 as an energy milestone in Texas. Solar power generation in ERCOT generated a peak of 16.7GW, the highest on record. Solar accounted for 36.1% of the ERCOT market. It was the second time in 2024 for solar to represent more than 30% of the market.
Texas has surpassed California as the state with the most installed utility-scale solar capacity. However, rooftop solar installations give California the overall lead.