How the legacy of Texas energy is meeting the challenge of an all-of-the-above future.
Those who lived through Winter Storm Uri in Texas in 2021 know they don’t ever want a repeat. A look at the state of the energy industry reveals reassuring trends and promising vectors for growth in a state where leading comes naturally. That applies whether it’s oil & gas, wind, geothermal, solar, nuclear or the emerging battery storage field, among other areas of endeavor.
All eyes were on Texas when an extreme cold snap struck in February 2025. Would new improved protection for natural gas infrastructure withstand the onslaught? The U.S. Energy Information Administration confirms that the system held strong even as natural gas-fired electricity generation approached record highs.
“Although winter storms can disrupt production in the natural gas sector, supplies in Texas were sufficient during peak generation periods this February,” the EIA stated. “System reliability was improved by weatherization standards approved in August 2022 following Winter Storm Uri in February 2021. The new standards required critical natural gas infrastructure, including pipelines servicing power plants, to be better protected against weather emergencies.”
Site Selection magazine’s Ron Starner addressed the topic head-on in September 2024 in “What Large Power Users Need to Know About Texas.”
This snapshot from the U.S. Energy Atlas shows all energy-related assets and infrastructure in Texas as of March 2025.
Map courtesy of U.S. Energy Information Administration
“Power is probably the biggest factor impacting Texas right now,” Susan Arledge, senior managing director for Newmark in Dallas, told him. “The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) predicts that Texas’ electricity demand could almost double in the next six years due to the growth of data centers and artificial intelligence. ERCOT experts say that demand could reach 150 gigawatts by 2030, which is nearly double the 85 gigawatts of demand recorded in 2023. Data centers and AI are expected to account for more than half of the increased demand.”
Economist Ray Perryman told Starner, “The dynamic Texas economy and its growing population — and cold winters and hot summers — require increases in electric generation and transmission capacity well beyond what was expected even a few years ago,” due to additional power-intensive developments such as the Tesla gigafactory in Austin and LNG facilities along the Gulf Coast.
“Developments on the horizon to deal with climate issues, such as hydrogen production and carbon capture, will also require enormous resources,” he said. “It is probably not surprising that Texas is at the forefront of many of these trends given the economic development success of the state in recent years and its regulatory framework that is conducive to emerging industries.”
ERCOT has 1,775 active generation interconnection requests totaling 346 GW planned for the next few years, including 155 GW of solar, 35 GW of wind, 15 GW of gas and 141 GW facilitated by battery capacity, Perryman explained. “Benefits of this diversity of sources are that they can be built faster and with more location options. However, given that 190 GW is dependent on wind or sun, the batteries, as well as additional gas-fired capacity, will be crucial to dealing with surges in demand in response to weather extremes. It will necessitate an ‘all of the above’ approach, and policy should accommodate all types of power resources.”
The 88th Texas Legislature established the Texas Energy Fund, which provides grants and loans for the construction, operation, maintenance and modernization of electric generation facilities. The fund is made up of four programs: In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program, Completion Bonus Grant Program, Outside ERCOT Grant Program and Texas Backup Power Package Program.
The Public Utilities Commission of Texas received 72 applications through the program requesting $24.4 billion to finance 38 GW of dispatchable generation — “significantly more than the $5 billion initially allotted,” the Texas Comptroller’s office noted last September. “Taking this interest and projected electric demand into consideration, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued a statement saying they would ‘seek to expand the program to $10 billion as soon as possible.’ ”
“With the new projections for 2030, we will seek to expand the program to $10 billion to build more new plants as soon as possible,” Abbott and Patrick said in a joint statement last summer. “The average plant will take three to four years to complete, and new transmission lines will take three to six years to complete. Texas is currently the fastest state to approve and build new plants and transmission lines because of our low regulations and pro-business policies, but we must move quickly.”
Among the projects that have moved forward are two new Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) peaker power plants in Maxwell in central Texas that will add hundreds of megawatts of power to the Texas grid. “To keep the Texas economy booming, we need to continue building affordable, reliable power,” said Gov. Abbott at the plants’ April 2024 groundberaking. “That’s why plants like these in the growing Central Texas region are so important. Texas has already added over 3,000 megawatts of dispatchable power to the grid in the last 12 months, and with the addition of two new power facilities, we will continue in our mission to create more power for Texans.”
Deploying over 1.36 million modules spanning more than six square miles in Swisher County, Vesper Energy’s Hornet Solar installation will contribute more than $100 million in new tax revenue to the county and deliver 600 MWac of energy — enough to power over 150,000 homes annually.
Photo courtesy of Vesper Energy
All Systems Go
How is the rest of the Texas energy picture looking? The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported in summer 2024:
- Texas is the top crude oil- and natural gas-producing state in the nation. In 2023, Texas accounted for 43% of the nation’s crude oil production, 27% of its natural gas gross withdrawals and 28% of U.S. marketed natural gas production.
- The state’s 34 refineries can process nearly 6.3 million barrels of crude oil per calendar day — about one-third of the nation’s total refining capacity.
- In 2023, Texas produced more electricity than any other state and generated more than twice as much as second-place Florida. Texas accounted for 13% of the nation’s total electricity net generation that year.
- Texas is the largest energy-consuming state and is the largest net supplier of energy to other states. The industrial sector, including the state’s refineries and petrochemical plants, accounts for more than half of the state’s energy consumption and for 24% of the nation’s total industrial sector energy use.
Liquid natural gas (LNG) continues to flow as well. In February, Entergy Texas announced it had reached a natural gas supply agreement with Kinder Morgan to support “the rapid industrial, commercial and residential growth in the region.” Developed in collaboration with Golden Pass LNG, which is developing a major LNG terminal on the coast, the arrangement is part of Kinder Morgan’s $1.7 billion, 216-mile Trident Intrastate Pipeline project that will transport Permian Basin and other natural gas supply at the Katy hub to the LNG and industrial corridor near Port Arthur, Texas. Eliecer Viamontes, president and CEO of Entergy Texas, said the agreement serves as “a critical component for our Southeast Texas Energy Plan [STEP Ahead plan]. By securing a reliable and sustainable fuel supply, we are building the foundation for a stronger energy future.”
“The Trident Intrastate Pipeline is expected to be operational in early 2027, aligning with the start of major industrial projects in Southeast Texas,” said an Entergy Texas release. “Once completed, the pipeline is expected to transport approximately 1.5 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas, with possible expansion opportunities up to 2.8 billion cubic feet per day, ensuring reliable energy supply for decades to come.”
In the solar arena, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, Texas in 2024 maintained its position as the top-ranked state for new solar capacity installed for the second consecutive year with 11.6 GW of new installations. More than a quarter of the nation’s utility-scale solar capacity was installed in Texas.
15,000+ Turbines Make a Mighty Wind
As part of renewable energy leader RWE Group’s “Growing Green” strategy to expand its portfolio to more than 65 GW net installed capacity and to invest €55 billion worldwide from 2024 to 2030, the company says it has earmarked about €20 billion to significantly increase its operating asset base in the U.S.
Texas is fundamental to cementing that base. RWE in October commissioned the Montgomery Ranch Wind Farm in Foard County, adding 203 MW of wind capacity to its portfolio of 23 onshore wind farms. Around $50 million in property tax revenues are projected to be infused into the region throughout Montgomery Ranch’s operating lifetime. Additionally, construction of Montgomery Ranch created 250 jobs at its peak and generated $1.5 million in revenues from local spending, RWE says.
Texas has led the nation in wind energy generation for 17 years. Among the superlatives noted in a recent summary by the Texas Office of the Comptroller:
- In 2023, wind represented 28.6% of Texas energy generation, second to natural gas (41.8%). In 2022, Texas wind generated 40,556 MW, accounting for more than 26% of all U.S. wind-sourced electricity.
- There are 239 wind-related projects in Texas and more than 15,300 wind turbines, the most of any state.
- Texas wind power generation surpassed the state’s nuclear generation in 2014 and coal-fired generation in 2020.
RWE is building two other onshore installations in southeastern Texas with a combined capacity of 446 MW. RWE’s project pipeline consists of more than 36 GW in onshore wind, solar and battery storage and 6 GW of offshore wind, which provides for one of the largest development platforms in the U.S.
“Texas is the world’s eighth largest economy. That level of economic output requires a lot of reliable energy to support the businesses and residents calling our state home. We can’t expect businesses to continue thriving in Texas if there isn’t an electric grid available to serve them.”
— Glenn Hegar, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, September 2024
Near McCulloch County, Colorado-based Scout Clean Energy has developed the 180-MW Heart of Texas Wind Farm, where 64 turbines support 18 landowners and generate “enough clean energy for the ERCOT grid to power approximately 67,000 homes,” says Scout. The company last year signed a virtual power purchase agreement with AdventHealth for a 90-MW portion of the installation’s output.
“Scout’s Heart of Texas Wind Farm is a wonderful example of how Texas wind energy can bring clean energy to the grid, and tax revenues and employment to the community,” said Michael Rucker, chief executive officer and founder of Scout. “We’re happy to help deliver on AdventHealth’s impressive effort toward achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2026, which was key to driving this sizable investment in the renewable economy.”
Charged and Ready
ENGIE North America in December 2023 commissioned the 100-MW Sun Valley Battery Storage project in Hill County, part of more than 2.0 GW of energy storage the company had under construction in Texas and other states. RWE in October broke ground for three battery storage sites with total power capacity of 450 MW and storage capacity of 900 megawatt-hours. The EIA in 2024 stated, “Texas, with an expected 6.4 GW, and California, with an expected 5.2 GW, will account for 82% of the new U.S. battery storage capacity.”
