# Renewables : the Story of Texas Stephen M. Niemeyer, P.E. Border Affairs Manager Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Good Neighbor Environmental Board Washington, DC March 24, 2011

# Topics  State Goals  Wind  Biomass  Solar  Small Hydro  Transmission  Other Legislation  Border Energy Forum

# State Goals

• Original goal

– Set by Texas legislature in 1999: 2,000 MW of new renewable generation capacity by 2009 

# • Projects that would attain the 2009 goal were already under development by 2005

# State Goals
• In 2005 the Legislature set new biennial goals, culminating in:

– 5,880 MW by 2015

– A “target” of 10,000 MW by 2020 

# • **Texas exceeded 10,110 MW by end of 2010** 

# Wind

• As of December 2010: 10,000 MW of capacity statewide • Matched against countries, Texas is #6 in the world

# Delaware Mountain Wind Farm, **Culberson County**

# Biomass December 2010: 125 MW of capacity statewide Recovery of landfill gas in Texas

# Solar December 2010: 25.4 MW of capacity statewide Solar array at wastewater treatment plant in San Benito, TX

# Small Hydro 6 MW of capacity December 2010:

# Renewable Energy, **2010**

**Ren ew** **abl e**  **Ene rgy**  **Ge ne**  **ra tio** **n i n T** **exa s**  **by Te chnol**  **og y**  **Ty pe** **, 2010**  **Te chnol**  **og y T** 

**ype Qu** **arte r 1**  **Quarte r 2**  **Quarte r 3**  **Quarte r 4**  **To ta** **l (M** **Wh)** Bi omass 20, 974. 18 27, 768. 55 17, 407. 00 31, 384. 98 97, 534. 70 Hydro 196, 238.40 133, 408. 24 192, 251. 86 87, 358. 18 609, 256. 68 Lan dfill gas 110, 510. 50 114, 893. 21 116, 789. 10 122, 711. 27 464, 904. 08 Sol ar 1, 384. 67 2, 042. 38 3, 482. 94 7, 539. 44 14, 449. 42 Wi nd 6, 459, 442. 33 7, 806, 011. 07 5, 307, 839. 64 7, 255, 367. 29 26, 828, 660. 34 Total 6, 788, 550. 07 8, 084, 123. 45 5, 637, 770. 55 7, 504, 361. 16 28, 014, 805. 22 **Biomass 0.35%**  **Hydro 2.17%**  **Landfill gas** 

**1.66% Solar**  **0.05% Wind**  **95.77% Other**  **4.23%**

# What’s **in the future?**
• Several thousand more MW of wind farms could be constructed in Texas • Also, great solar potential in areas overlapping with the windy areas • But...

# Transmission
• Transmission — the #1 challenge for wind and solar electricity around the U.S. — and Texas is no exception • 2005 legislation required Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) to identify and meet transmission needs for “Competitive Renewable Energy Zones”

# Progress on Transmission
• Five CREZ zones in West Texas and the Texas Panhandle • Proposed routes for transmission lines • Decision on allocation of costs • Negotiations with property owners • System studies

# PACE Legislation
• Legislation passed in 2009 allows “property- assessed clean energy” (PACE)  Cities can offer financing to homeowners for renewable energy and efficiency (recovered over time by assessment on property) 

# • Implementation held up by state and federal legal concerns

# Border Energy Forum
• Texas General Land Office organizes annual Border Energy Forum • Venue rotates among ten border states • 18 th 

# annual Forum: El Paso, Texas October 27 - 28, 2011

C’mon down, y’all!

# ¡FIN! Steve Niemeyer 512 - 239 - 3606 Steve.Niemeyer@tceq.texas.gov