Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick responded to Texas’ pressing energy needs in a recent joint statement following crucial testimony from ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas.
In testimony before the Senate Business and Commerce committee, Vegas highlighted a potential need for 150,000 megawatts of power to sustain Texas’ electricity grid by 2030, which is only six years away.
Presently, Texas can produce an average of around 85,000 megawatts of power sourced from wind, solar, coal, nuclear, and natural gas. Given these new projections, Vegas urged a reassessment of all grid policies to ensure future energy demands can be met, according to a recent press release from Abbott’s office.
Given the escalating demand for power in the Lone Star State, Abbott and Patrick both agree that the Texas Energy Fund needs to be bolstered immediately.
“With the new projections for 2030, we will seek to expand the program to $10 billion to build more new plants as soon as possible. … Texas is currently the fastest state to approve and build new plants and transmission lines because of our low regulations and pro-business policies, but we must move quickly,” said Abbott.
In November of last year, Senate Joint Resolution 93 received overwhelming voter approval, establishing the Texas Energy Fund. This fund initially allocated $5 billion to a low-interest loan initiative aimed at encouraging the construction of additional natural gas plants.
According to Abbott’s office, Texas has since received letters of intent for loans totaling $39 billion, reflecting nearly eight times more demand than the energy fund’s initial allocation.
On average, the construction of each new plant is expected to take three to four years, while the installation of new transmission lines typically requires three to six years for completion.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, a recent ERCOT report released in June cautioned that controlled outages may be initiated this summer during peak energy demand hours, particularly around 9 p.m. This measure could become necessary due to potential electricity shortages, particularly from wind energy sources, which are less predictable. Although renewable energy sources provide environmental advantages, uncertainties persist regarding their reliability.
However, energy experts note that the grid’s resilience has improved with the expansion of renewable energy sources, contributing to its ability to manage increased energy demands.