If Mississippi was involved in a modern-day production of “Gone With the Wind,” it’s certain that Texas would play the role of Scarlett O’Hara’s utopian homeland of Tara.
To many Mississippians, Texas is everything that their own state aspires to be. It has no state income tax. Its economy, fueled by Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin, is usually thriving. People move to Texas from other states for job opportunities. And there is the rugged cowboy image that has served the state so well.
If Texas is all that, then you have to give the state credit for something else, too: It is the top producer of alternative energy in America, a commitment that has kept electricity moving throughout its power grid during the recent heat wave.
Catherine Rampell, a columnist on The Washington Post website, noted that Texas today has six times the solar power generating capacity than it did just four years ago.
“This increase — coupled with greater wind and storage development — is what has allowed Texans to beat the heat and keep their electricity bills down,” Rampell wrote.
She cited a story on the Scientific American website, which said Texas’ surge in solar power production is helping the state’s largest electric grid operator keep air conditioners running during the ongoing heat wave.
This may sound unusual, because Texas has a unique, legendary history of oil and gas production. No doubt some Texans view solar power and other renewables as unnecessary competition. Oil and gas is still being recovered in the Lone Star State, but Texas also has gotten serious about diversifying its energy supply.
Just in time, apparently. Rampell reported that several “thermal-energy plants” in Texas had to shut down in recent weeks, as sites that use coal, natural gas or nuclear power to produce electricity were affected by the heat wave.
“Additional solar and wind generation more than made up the difference,” Rampell noted. “Renewables overall have lately represented roughly 35 to 40 percent of power generation at peak, compared with about 30 percent last year.”
Now, only the dreamiest among us would say there are no limits to alternative energy. The sun goes down every day. Sometimes the wind is mild. But this is where improved energy storage comes in, and Rampell noted that Texas is leading the way with that, too.
Of the new battery storage facilities that went online in the United States during the first three months of 2023, 70% of it was in Texas. If that trend continues, the state will be able to save more of its solar power for use at night.
Mississippi is taking tentative steps into alternative energy, but this state is fertile ground for such production. The sun shines pretty brightly here on most days. Too often, though, we tend to follow the advice of Scarlett O’Hara — and decide to think about it tomorrow.
— Jack Ryan, McComb Enterprise-Journal
