Texas leads nation in solar power installation, report finds – Houston

Lucio Vasquez / Houston Public Media

Texas installed more solar power than any other state last year, according to a recent report from the Solar Energy Industries Association, a national trade group.

“I think we’re just in an environment where you’ll just continue seeing energy growth,” said Daniel Giese, the solar association’s state affairs director for Texas.

Last year, Texas installed about 11 gigawatts of solar power – more than double the amount installed by any other state, according to the association.

Giese said that’s because Texas is seeing a growing demand for energy.

The state could be the leading market for data centers in two years, according to the Texas Tribune. These facilities are known for their heavy demand for electricity. Texas also added more people than any other state last year.

“It’s just the perfect storm of load growth coming online, and then the need for power,” Giese said.

The state has a total of about 52 gigawatts of solar power, enough electricity for more than 6 million homes. The state is also on track to lead the country in energy storage.

Giese said these two forms of energy are growing in Texas because they add electricity to the grid quickly, and drive down energy prices.

“Solar is able to power the state during the daytime,” he said. “Battery [storage] is able to capture that excess, cheap power, and then able to deploy that to ensure that there’s no price spikes for Texans.”