Texas Renewable Energy Resources

Texas Renewable Energy Resources

In the mid-1990's, the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO), contracted for a study to evaluate Texas's renewable energy resource base, including solar, wind, biomass, water, geothermal and building climatology. The information on this web page can also be found in that report, The Texas Renewable Energy Resource Assessment, which presents a detailed description and assessment of Texas' biomass energy resources, including numerous maps and charts.

Introduction

Renewable energies are those forms of energy that derive from the natural movements and mechanisms of the environment - sunshine, wind, the heat of the earth, the growth of plants and animals, the movement of the seas and rivers. Prior to the industrial revolution, these sources were virtually the only forms of energy used by man. During the past 150 years, modern civilization has become increasingly dependent on fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas. The finite nature of these supplies implies that a transition to a sustainable energy future is inevitable.
Renewable energy sources, coupled with efficiency measures, represent a significant potential for meeting Texas' long-term energy demand and offer Texans the chance to maintain their energy independence.

Texas: At an Energy Crossroads
Texas is currently at an energy crossroads. For many years, excess energy production from Texas fueled a sizable portion of the national economy. During the past two decades, however, Texas' steadily increasing consumption has finally caught up with its waning energy production. Trends projected from this historical information, plotted in Figure 1, suggest that Texas will become more and more dependent on energy imported from out-of-state sources.

FIGURE 1. Texas Energy Production and Consumption.

FIGURE 1: Texas Railroad Commission statistics for crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, lignite, coal, and uranium are summarized in the green production line; consumption data are taken from the U.S. Energy Information Administration's State Energy Data Report 1992. Dashed segments represent projections.

Purpose of this Project
Before the realistic potential of renewables can be determined, it is essential to examine the natural renewable "fuel" resources of the state. Obvious questions come to mind, such as: How large are these resources?, Where are they located?, and How can they be used? Answering these questions requires an evaluation of Texas' renewable energy resource base. The assessment consists of three distinct components: survey, overview, and recommendations. It evaluates solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, water, and building climatology energy resources.The study's survey component identifies and reviews information sources relevant to Texas renewables. These include details on fundamental data collection activities such as solar and wind monitoring networks, and a review of significant summary documents, studies, and maps. The overview characterizes each resource with special attention given to spatial variability and the identification of "good" resource areas of the state. Finally, recommendations are made to prioritize Texas' future resource assessment needs.

This project comprehensively reviews information covering the full range of renewable energy resources in Texas. No formal effort has been made to ascertain the economic potential of these renewable resources, since this is contingent upon the status of conversion technologies. Future activities of the State Energy Conservation Office will make such assessments.

Credits

The State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) thanks the many contributors to the original study, for sharing their expertise and experience in renewable energy initiatives, education, research and demonstrations.

Contributors
Technical Review Team
Sustainable Energy Development Council
Web Site Credits

Contributors

Leonard Bachman The University of Houston Houston, Texas	Vaughn Nelson West Texas A&M University Canyon, Texas
George Bomar Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission Austin, Texas	Alan D. Propp Virtus Energy Research Associates Dallas, Texas
Drew Decker Texas Natural Resource Information System Austin, Texas	Dave Renne´ National Renewable Energy Laboratory Golden, Colorado
Richard Faidley Virtus Energy Research Associates Austin, Texas	Mike Sloan Virtus Energy Research Associates Austin, Texas
Charles H. Freeman Electric Power Engineers, Inc. Waco, Texas	Russel Smith Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association Austin, Texas
Bill Hoffman Texas Water Development Board Austin, Texas	Raghavan Srinivasan Blackland Research Center Temple, Texas
Keith D. Hutchison University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas	Andrew Swift University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, Texas
Leslie Libby City of Austin Electric Utility Department Austin, Texas	Janet Valenza Consultant Austin, Texas

Technical Review Team

Gary Vliet (solar) The University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas	Jim Francfort (water) Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Idaho Falls, Idaho


Dave Renne´ (solar) National Renewable Energy Laboratory Golden, Colorado	Steve Seni (geothermal) The University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas


Tom Stoffel (solar) National Renewable Energy Laboratory Golden, Colorado	Dave Duchane (geothermal) Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos, New Mexico


Andrew Swift (wind) The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, Texas	Gregory Nunz (geothermal) Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos, New Mexico


Dennis Elliott (wind) National Renewable Energy Laboratory Golden, Colorado	Bruce Hunn (building climatology) The University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas


Charlie Tischler (biomass) Blackland Research Center Temple, Texas	Steve Cook (building climatology) The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, Texas


Dave Swanson (biomass) Western Regional Biomass Energy Program Golden, Colorado	Stuart Nelson (electric transmission) Lower Colorado River Authority Austin, Texas


Bill Hoffman (water) Texas Water Development Board Austin, Texas	Ed Ethridge (electric transmission) Public Utility Commission of Texas Austin, Texas


Quentin Martin (water) Lower Colorado River Authority Austin, Texas

Sustainable Energy Development Council (SEDC)

Sustainable Energy Development Council (SEDC)
SEDC Co-Chairs
Garry Mauro Texas General Land Office	Karl Ra'bago Texas Public Utility Commission

SEDC Members
E.R. "Dick" Brooks Central and South West Corporation	Tim Curtis Texas Citizen Action

Tom Duffy Comptroller of Public Accounts	Roger Duncan City of Austin

John Fainter Governor's Office	John Hall Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission

Deborah C. Kastrin Texas Department of Commerce	Robert J. King KENETECH Corporation

George E. McLaughlin John Gray Institute	Jim Morriss Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc.

Mary Scott Nabers Texas Railroad Commission	Michael Osborne Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association

Mark Rose Lower Colorado River Authority	Tom "Smitty" Smith Public Citizen

Leslie Tugman Texas Water Development Board
SEDC Staff
Judith Carroll Charlotte Banks Jane Pulaski Web Site Credits A special thanks to Steve Wiese, Chuck Wright, Greg Nudd and Randy Norwood of the Conservation Services Group, who developed and maintained the original web site through a contract with the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO).

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State Energy Conservation Office (SECO)

Sustainable Energy Development Council (SEDC)

SEDC Co-Chairs

SEDC Members

SEDC Staff