Solar Energy in Texas

Did you know the amount of solar energy reaching the Earth in one hour is approximately the same as the total energy used by everyone on the planet for an entire year? Imagine the abundant amount of sunshine in Texas alone!

Texas continues to grow, and so is the demand for energy. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) recently released (Dec. 2011) their 10-year energy outlook which indicated the need for additional energy generation - in particular, the need for additional energy to handle peak demands in the summer.

See http://ercot.com/news/press_releases/show/459.

Wouldn't it be great to meet some of our growing energy needs by tapping the HUGE potential of energy from the sun? Generating electricity from solar panels (photovoltaic or PV panels) installed on homes and businesses have the following key benefits:

1. Electricity generation is generally aligned with the time of day demand. So, while our air conditioners are in heavy, almost continuous use during Texas summers, this is also when the sun shines brightest and solar panels generate the most electricity!

2. Solar energy installed costs are already lower than other existing peak demand generation sources.

3. Electricity generated by distributed solar panels on homes and businesses is located where the demand is consumed (our house/business), thus eliminating electricity transmission losses.

4. Electricity generated from solar panels does not require our scarce Texas water resources for electricity generation like other conventional electricity generation sources.

5. Distributed electricity generation from solar panels is generally a quick deployment - six months versus up to three years for conventional power plants.

For overview information about solar energy, please watch these short introductory videos (about 4 minutes each) at these URLs:

https://www.eeremultimedia.energy.gov/solar/videos/solar_power_basics

https://www.eeremultimedia.energy.gov/solar/videos/photovoltaics_diverse_technology

If you would like further information about what you could do to help promote the use of distributed solar power generation in Texas, please send your request to the email address given below:

planosolar@gmail.com

Plano Solar Energy Advocate (LH)

(original post - http://livegreeninplano.blogspot.com/2012/03/solar-energy-in-texas.html)