A study released by Public Citizen, an environmental advocacy group, has concluded that the entire state of Texas’ power generation needs could theoretically be met by solar power. (I would like to stress the theoretical part.) Heat concentrating solar power was found to have a potential capacity of 148,000 MW in Texas alone, and the report says a 30×30 mile field of photovoltaic solar panels could meet the entire state’s needs.
A separate study by the University of Texas at Austin says that the state could create 123,000 jobs in the manufacturing industry if it were to become a global leader on solar panel production. (The study did not address how many jobs would be created if Texas magically became the world’s leader in production of anything else.)
However before we get carried away with the good news, there are some pretty clear obstacles in the path. Namely the water doesn’t exist to make such large scale solar power generation a reality.
Heat concentrating solar power requires large amounts of water. Unlike other power generating methods solar power plants in their need of sun and vast open spaces do not have the luxury of placing themselves next to sufficiently large bodies of water. You can read about the dilemma of solar power generation and water shortages here: http://wwcpd.org/2009/solar-power-or-solar-death-power-you-be-the-judge/
As for the photovoltaic technology it admittedly needs a lot less water, however it still does require a meaningful amount of water to be trucked in to keep the panels clean. As dust will significantly reduce the panels’ efficiency. The panels are also very expensive so it’s quite unrealistic to expect there to ever be a 30×30 mile field of the panels. That’s 900 square miles, which is over three times the size of the nation of Singapore.
Stepping back into the real world for a moment. Texas is the leading state in terms of wind power generation with a capacity of over 4,000 MW, with the Texas Public Utility Commission saying they could possibly deliver 25,000 MW of wind power to urban centers by 2012. Texas is also home to the world’s largest wind farm, producing 735 MW, and consisting of 430 wind turbines spread over 47,000 acres. [1]
Unlike solar power, wind turbines do not need large amounts of water, and with the immense size of Texas the power generation possibilities are endless. The Texas State Legislature has set a goal of 6,000 MW of renewable energy by 2015, about 5% of the state’s demand, and 10,000 MW by 2025. Including 500 MW of renewable energy excluding wind power. [2]
While those figures pale in comparison to California’s pledge for 33% of its power to be renewable by 2020 (California is currently at 22% [3]), it’s still a step in the right direction for Texas. A large number of leading Texan politicians aren’t exactly known for their belief in climate change, as opposed to say California’s, however there is still a lot to be said about the desirability of meeting your power needs in-house.
