Seeing Texas rooftops plastered with solar panels and maybe a battery in the garage may become more common after one of the worst winter storms in Texas history. The one-two punch of soaring electricity prices and massive outages following the collapse of the power system after the February 15th storm is likely to be a turning point for the solar industry in the Lone Star State.
Texas has 780,000 households with home solar systems, second only after California, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. But with only about 1% of households on solar, it lags far behind in per capita installation. Relatively low energy prices mean that the incentive to switch to residential solar is still lower than places like Nevada which tops the list with 1.3 megawatt of home solar capacity per person, more than 10x higher than Texas.
But this month may change that. Texas came to a halt as temperatures fell to -11 Fahrenheit, the second coldest week in history, bursting pipes, freezing pipelines, and knocking out power for millions. At times, the gap between demand and supply widened to about 30 gigawatts (just under half the state’s peak demand) as Texas grid operators scrambled to avoid damaging equipment that could have left the state in the dark for months.
This shortfall sent electricity prices soaring 10,000%. For some customers on variable-rate plans who were fully exposed to wholesale price fluctuations, utility bills followed suit. One customer of electricity supplier Griddy posted a screenshot of a $3,800 utility bill to power his 1300-square-foot home for the last two weeks.
Those skyrocketing prices for Griddy customers are only the beginning. The state will now need to spend billions of dollars hardening its infrastructure against extreme weather, which is expected to worsen as climate change advances. Although Texan’s deregulated energy market leaves much up to businesses, like every state, policymakers are now under pressure to prevent another such catastrophe from the next polar plunge, or blistering heatwave. Over the next five years, the state will have to make enormous new infrastructure expenditures, a cost ultimately ending up on utility bills. Ratepayers will be on the hook.
Texas is famous for going it alone. Its grid is isolated from the rest of the country to avoid federal regulation. That was one of the reasons that when power plants began going offline this month, Texas had nowhere to turn. Once the ice melts in the Lone Star State, the place famous for going it alone may find residents doing the same when it comes to generating their own electricity.
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We also provide and install radiant barrier attack shields, quality insulation, solar water heaters, solar pool heaters, and a myriad of other amazing products to keep your home’s heating and cooling costs as low as modern science will allow. Contact now for a consult on how solar can work for you.
Net 0 Zero Energy solar electricity systems are made of high-quality US manufactured modules of top tier quality. While our solar water heating systems are manufactured by Solar Development Incorporated, Florida’s oldest solar manufacturer located in Palm Beach County since 1974.