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Solar electricity is poised to overtake coal in—of all places—Texas (www.motherjones.com)
submitted 5 months ago by to c/solarpunk@slrpnk.net
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For the first time ever, solar is set to generate more electricity than coal in the power market managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Nobody is building new coal power plants in the state, but developers are adding more solar there than anywhere else in the country. As a result of those diverging trajectories, the federal government expects ERCOT will receive 78 billion kilowatt-hours from solar in 2026, and just 60 from coal.

This trend does have seasonal variations. Last year, solar output beat coal on a monthly basis from March through August, and this year it is expected to do so from March through December, per the US Energy Information Administration at the Department of Energy.

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[–] 6 points 5 months ago (3 children)

As someone who has never been to Texas, I associate Texas with unrelenting sun and vast tracts of uninhabitable land with little or no environmental value (ok that bit is hyperbole, I know deserts are in fact a delicate ecosystem but you get the idea).

Or in other words, perfect solar panel real estate.

So what's stopping them taking advantage of all the almost free energy!

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago

    uninhabitable land with little or no environmental value

    As I understand it, the partial shade created by solar panels will often be a plus for the ecology of the land below solar panels. Especially in a sun scorched place like Texas.

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