The growth of Texas economically and culturally cannot be described without knowing the story of energy in the state. Other than perhaps the expansion of the railroad, the discovery of oil from the Lucas No. 1 well in 1901 has shaped the state’s history more than any other factor. The discovery of oil changed Texas from a primarily agricultural economy to a 20th century powerhouse of petroleum and industry (TSHA 2017). Throughout the 20th century, newly founded towns and cities would boom or bust depending on the success of nearby oil fields, and the oil production from University of Texas endowed lands have generated more than $10 Billion for the Texas Permanent University Fund (TSHA 2017). Though Texas reached peak oil production in the 1970’s, the energy sector continues to thrive. From the 1970’s to 2005, total energy production steadily declined due to aging infrastructure and depletion of conventional resource deposits such as oil and gas (Prozzi et al. 2017). Conventional resource those that are those that can be extracted by standard, well-known methods (Hanania et al.). Decline due to depletion of conventional resources was offset in the 1990’s by the licensing of Texas’ two nuclear power plants, the South Texas Project and Comanche Peak, which are both in the top 5 electricity producing facilities in the state (Prozzi et al. 2017). Since 2005, production has increased slightly due largely to enhanced oil and gas recovery techniques in unconventional deposits such as the Barnett and Eagle Ford Shale (Prozzi et al. 2017). Since 2000, there has been a small but significant shift the state’s energy production. Between 2002 and 2011, wind energy increased twelve-fold and by 2013 accounted for 10% of energy production in Texas (Texas Renewable Energy). According to the Texas Governor’s office, if Texas was considered a country, it would rank sixth in the world in wind energy production (Texas Renewable Energy). Given the state’s capacity for solar energy, many believe the coming decade could see a solar surge equal to that of wind. Even though conventional deposits may be running dry, the state has adapted with unconventional technologies of extraction. Coupled with the surge of renewables such as wind, it is clear that Texas will remain an energy state for years to come.

Wind Farms and Resources

The first notable wind turbine in Texas was erected in 1999. Ever since then there have been many forces driving the growth of the wind power industry in the state. The abundances of available land fit for turbines, ideal wind conditions in many areas and the fact that wind is a renewable resource have been leading causes in Texas’s transition to wind power. The fact that turbines need so much land makes wind farms only suitable to be in areas far from cities, this makes getting the energy generated hard to get on the grid and expensive. Until 2008 windfarms were only found in the pan handle and west Texas. In 2008 there was a boom in wind power development that caused multiple grids in west Texas to produce a surplus of energy. Not long after, approval of a $4.9 billion plan to build new transmission lines to transport the wind-generated electricity produced in West Texas to urban areas such as Dallas. (Vertuno, 2009) This was the largest investment towards renewable energy in all of the U.S. history at the time. Since then Texas has grown to become the top yielding state of wind energy producing so much energy that if it was its own country it would be ranked 6th amongst all countries globally. Although wind power has a large margin in Texas’s power grid it accounts for only 1 percent of electricity in the United States. Texas dominance in wind power is largely attributed to the fact that it does not share a grid with any other state. Therefore, it does not fall under federal regulation that would hinder it from bringing power out of remote locations. In December 2017 wind energy surpassed that or coal energy production in Texas for the first time ever. Scientist at the University of Texas predict that by 2019 wind energy production will consistently harvest more energy than that from coal in the state. (Smith, 2017) Although Texas has seemingly perfected the harvesting of wind energy its next feat is energy storage. Limits are applied to production amounts if there are not batteries equipped to store the energy. The company Tesla created the world's largest battery as large as a football field the 100-megawatt lithium-ion battery is influencing how Texas plans to store more wind generated energy in the future. (Smith, 2017)

Solar Plants and Resources

Solar energy is the only means of energy production to come straight from the sun. The sun is the ultimate energy source for nearly all types of energy generation, but PV solar is the only method to generate electricity directly from sunlight. The key to photovoltaic (PV) solar is the physical phenomenon called the photoelectric effect. Certain semiconductor materials become electrically charged when light of sufficient frequency strikes them (Chaar 2011). When sunlight reaches solar panels, electrons in the semiconductor material flow from one end to other, creating an electric current. This phenomenon was discovered nearly 100 years ago but large scale solar plants were not considered economic because first generation solar cells had only a 17% efficiency. Today, current lab experiments have reported up to 31% efficiency (Chaar 2011). This increase in efficiency along with reduction in manufacturing costs have made solar competitive in the energy market (Texas Renewable Energy 2014).

Given the amount of solar radiation that Texas receives, the prospect of utility grade solar facilities has been of interest in Texas for decades. Unfortunately, large scale solar has been slow to grow because the state’s energy policy has favored fossil fuels (Bordie 2014). It wasn’t until 1985, when the city of Austin started to experiment with utility grade solar facilities, that the state started to take advantage of its abundant solar energy (Bordie 2014). Although the state was reluctant to move away from fossil fuels, the future for solar in Texas looks promising. Texas receives some of the highest levels of solar radiation in the country and is ranked number one nationally in potential for solar industry growth by the Texas State Energy Conservation Office (Texas Renewable Energy 2014).

Energy from the sun is free and aside from the manufacturing wastes, solar energy is a zero-emissions form of electricity production (Buxton 2015). This makes utility grade solar an attractive alternative to fossil fuels, which are both limited in quantity and detrimental to the environment. Solar is not without disadvantages, however. Utility grade solar is still limited by the current maximum efficiency of solar cells, which is lower than other sources of electricity. Because of this, the most economic locations to build utility grade solar facilities are in west Texas, which requires new transmission lines to be built. Despite these challenges, solar is still the fastest growing sector of energy in Texas, and is helping to bridge the gap between coal and renewables. (Texas Renewable Energy 2014).

Hydroelectric

In general, there are two kinds of hydroelectric plants. One uses dams to build up water. The water is stored in a reservoir and then funneled into pipes called penstocks, an increase of water pressure then occurs so as the water passes by the turbine it has more force to drive the blades of the turbine to generate energy. Texas has 12 of these hydroelectric plants (Perlman & USGS, 2017). The other is called run-of-river, water is averted from a river into penstocks and turbines. These types of power plants rely heavily on river flows while hydro plants that have the ability to store water in reservoirs have the ability to release stored water in the event that a rivers flow is low. Water power has been utilized in Texas since as early as 1822 but it wasn’t till the 1890s that new innovations in the water turbine gave way to the first hydroelectric power plants. These remained small scale and privately owned until the 1940’s. (Perlman & USGS, 2017) In 1946, twenty-six hydroelectric plants produced 15 percent of the states total electric power. This rapid growth of water generated power did not subsist, by “1992, of the 390 generating units in Texas and thirty units outside Texas supplying power to the state, only 1 percent were hydroelectric” (Cornell, 2010). This trend has carried on to present day and has shown decrease. Texas does not have an abundance of surface water, frequent occurring droughts, natural sites for fit for building of dams and the majority of rivers its are intermittent these are four of the major reasons that hydropower has not taken off. Due to the shallow gradient changes found in rivers most of the hydroelectric plants in the state are classified as “Low-head” sites meaning the flow of the river is low therefore the energy yield is low.

Nuclear

The production of electricity from nuclear power plants is in some ways very similar to other means of production. The general principle for most power plants is that water is heated into steam and the steam is used to turn a turbine which generates an electrical current (Murray 2015). The difference between nuclear energy and other forms is the way in which the heat is generated. Heat for nuclear power plants is created by nuclear reactions involving atomic nuclei, the protons and neutrons that make up atoms. There are two basic types of nuclear reactions, fusion and fission. Fusion is the type of reaction that occurs at the center of stars in which two lighter atoms (low atomic mass) are fused together in a process that releases a great amount of energy (Konya and Nagy 2018). Physicists have not yet been able to sustain a fusion reaction. The type of reaction used for nuclear energy is fission. In fission reactions, heavy nuclei (high atomic mass) are split into smaller nuclei, free neutrons, and energy (Konya and Nagy 2018). The excess energy released is the energy used to create steam to drive a turbine. The most common reaction used in current nuclear power plants is the fission of Uranium-235 (Murray 2015). The process is as follows: a high energy (moving very fast) neutron impacts a Uranium-235 nucleus which causes it to split into a Barium nucleus, a Krypton nucleus, energy, and 3 excess neutrons. These 3 neutrons in turn impact other Uranium-235 nuclei and continue the reaction (Murray 2015). If there are enough Uranium-235 nuclei present and the process is allowed to continue in a chain reaction, the result is a massive explosion of energy that we call an atomic bomb. In nuclear reactors, the rate of fission is controlled by rods of boron, silver, cadmium or other elements that can readily absorb excess neutrons (Murray 2015). Absorbing the excess neutrons slows the reaction to allow for a sustained production of energy.

Nuclear energy was once hailed as the solution to the world’s energy problems, and indeed it does have many benefits. But concerns over security and safety, coupled with accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima, have stagnated the growth of the industry. Perhaps the largest benefit of nuclear energy is that it is emissions free, only water vapor is released into the atmosphere (Murray 2015). Furthermore, unlike wind and solar, nuclear power plants can act as baseload providers with high capacities and the ability to ramp up production quickly. Aside from fears of catastrophe or attack, the issue with nuclear power plants is the waste coolant water. Water surrounds the reaction chamber to cool the reactor (Konya and Nagy 2018). Eventually this water becomes to radioactive to use and must be changed. Originally, the plan in the US was to let the dirty water sit onsite until enough radiation had dissipated to be safe for transport to a permanent waste facility deep underground Yucca mountain in Utah. Opposition from the public and politicians in Utah halted the project and for now nuclear waste continues to sit onsite at nuclear power facilities. If fears could be overcome and security guaranteed, nuclear energy could provide emissions free baseload power for the future.

Natural Gas

Natural Gas is a non-renewable hydrocarbon gas found in abundance throughout the state of Texas. Large shale deposits in the state like the Eagle Ford of south Texas, the Bakken of north Texas, and the Permian Basin in west Texas are all drilled for natural gas. Methane, is the primary component of natural gas. The use of methane for energy production has soared recently in part because it produces fewer emissions than coal. Methane is used commonly to heat homes and for cooking on gas stoves (US EIA). Natural gas is also a major player in generating electricity. A mixture of air and methane are ignited to produce a high pressure gas that is used to turn a turbine. Like any power plant, the turbine is connected to an electromagnetic generator that produces electricity. Gas turbines are often used in combination with steam turbines in what is known as a combined-cycle power plant to generate more energy. The hot exhaust from the gas turbine is used to make steam and turn the steam turbine. The burning of natural gas releases half the carbon dioxide that coal does per kilowatt-hour.

Before making it to a power plant, the natural gas must be processed. This is required to get the natural gas to pipeline quality (Gouw et al. 2014). It involves the removal of many impurities such as oil, water, and many other fluids and hydrocarbons. Many of these byproducts of the natural gas processing, called natural gas liquids(NGLs) are valuable and can used as sources of energy or for raw materials in oil refineries. Texas indeed leads the nation in natural gas production with twenty three percent of the reserves in the United States (Stillwell and King 2011). Directional drilling and fracking are the main methods used to extract natural gas from non-permeable rocks such as shale. This involves drilling at angles into the rock, and pumping chemicals and water into the shale at incredibly high pressures to fracture the rock and make it permeable to gas. This process is highly controversial and is linked to contamination of groundwater. In a state that depends heavily on subsurface aquifers to supply its rivers with water, fracking may become a major environmental problem. However, natural gas is not going anywhere any time soon. Texas is home to 163 natural gas production plants and these plants produce approximately 20 Billion cubic feet of natural gas a day (Staples 2016).

Coal

Coal is a non-renewable fissil fuel common in the United States. Coal is pre-historic plant matter from swamps that has been preserved as rock. One-fourth of the known coal reserves in the world are found in the US (Lott 2015). Texas is home to many coal power plants. The facilities crush coal into a fine powder that is blown into a boiler where the coal dust burns in suspension. Water is passed through the boiler to create steam to drive the turbines. The steam is piped to the turnbine and is forced across the blades at over 3000psi.

Texas relies on coal for appx. 20% of its electricity production (Gouw et al). Most coal power plants in the state import coal, but the state does have a substantial number of coal reserves. In 2016 Texas ranked 6th nationally in coal production, producing 39,001,000 short tons of coal. Furthermore, Texas is the top producer of lignite coal. Lignite is less efficient and produces more ash and particulates when burned, than the coal reserves of Wyoming. Twice as much lignite is needed to produce the same amount of electricty as burning bituminous coal.

While coal still remains strong in Texas, the falling price of natural gas, and the increase in efficiency of solar and wind, are devastating the coal industry. In 2018 two of the largest coal-fired plants in Texas are scheduled for decommission.

Works Cited

Alamo Solar Power Project, San Antonio, Texas. Power Technology. https://www.power-technology.com/projects/alamo-solar-power-project-san-antonio-texas/ (last accessed 6 April 2018).

Austin Energy | AustinTexas.gov - The Official Website of the City of Austin. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.austintexas.gov/techreport/austin-energy

Bordie, J. G. 2010. SOLAR ENERGY. Handbook of Texas Online. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/dos09 (last accessed 28 March 2018).

Buxton, G. A. 2015. Alternative energy technologies: an introduction with computer simulations. Boca Raton: CRC Press (is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business).

Chaar, L. E. 2011. Photovoltaic System Conversion. Power Electronics Handbook :711–722.

Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1. United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Protecting People and the Environment. https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactors/cp1.html (last accessed 6 April 2018).

Gautam, S. R., Cooper Jr., H. B., & Miksad, R. W. (2017). ASSESSMENT OF AIR QUALITY IMPACTS OF COAL AND LIGNITE USE IN TEXAS. Elsevier B. V., 27p.

Gouw, J. A., de, Parrish D. D., Frost, G. J. (2014) Reduced emissions of CO2, NOx, and SO2 from U.S. power plants owing to switch from coal to natural gas with combined cycle technology, Earth’s Future: An Open Access AGU Journal, Vol. 2, Issue 2, p. 75-82

Greater Houston Partnership. (2018, April). Industry Sectors in Houston. Retrieved from https://www.houston.org/business/industry-sectors.html

Hanania, J., K. Stenhouse, and J. Donev. Conventional vs unconventional resource. Conventional vs unconventional resource - Energy Education. http://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Conventional_vs_unconventional_resource (last accessed 10 April 2018).

Hendricks, D. 2016. CPS Energy writes off $391.4 million from South Texas Project nuclear expansion. San Antonio Express-News. https://www.expressnews.com/business/local/article/CPS-Energy-writes-off-391-4-million-from-South-6852804.php (last accessed 6 April 2018).

Kónya J., and Nagy N.M. 2018. Nuclear and radiochemistry. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Lott, Melissa C., (2015) Strip-Mining Coal in the Heart of Texas, Scientific American. [online] https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plugged-in/strip-mining-coal-in-the-heart-of-texas/

Murray, R. L. R. 2015. Nuclear energy: an introduction to the concepts, systems, and applications of nuclear processes. Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier.

Prozzi, J., A. Dumais, M. Cline, L. Loftus-Otway, and E. Seaborne. 2011. Texas Energy Sector: Past and Future.

Reuters. 2008. UPDATE 1-Luminant seeks new reactor, 3rd Texas filing. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/utilities-nuclear-texas/update-1-luminant-seeks-new-reactor-3rd-texas-filing-idUSN1952971720080919?sp=true (last accessed 6 April 2018).

Staples, Todd (2016) Fracking continues boosting Texas’ economy, San Antonio Express-News. [online] https://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/commentary/article/Fracking-continues-boosting-Texas-economy-10642846.php

Stillwell, S. Ashlynn, King, Carey W. (2011) The Energy-Water Nexus in Texas, Ecology and Society, Vol. 16, No. 1 [online]

Storm Information. STP Nuclear Operating Company / Storm Information / Storm Information. http://www.stpegs.com/storm-information/?view=mobile (last accessed 6 April 2018).

Switching The Energy Economy Of San Antonio. (2011, July 8). Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2011/07/08/137704348/switching-the-energy-economy-of-san-antonio

Texas Renewable Energy. 2014. Office of the Governor Economic Development & Tourism.

Texas State Historical Association. 2017. Oil and Texas: A Cultural History. Oil and Texas: A Cultural History | Texas Almanac. https://texasalmanac.com/topics/business/oil-and-texas-cultural-history (last accessed 10 April 2018).

The State Of Nuclear Energy In Texas. https://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/tag/nuclear-energy-in-texas/ (last accessed 29 March 2018).

Webberville Solar Project. Project Overview - WebberVille Solar Project - Manor, Texas 78633. http://webbervillesolar.com/ProjectOverview.html (last accessed 5 April 2018).

U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2017. Independent Statistics and Analysis. Texas - State Energy Profile Overview - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=TX (last accessed 18 April 2018).

U.S. Energy Information Adminsitration (2015) Natural Gas Explained: Where Our Natural Gas Comes From. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=natural_gas_where

What is the City doing? (2016, May 3). Retrieved from http://greendallas.net/energy/city-energy/