Texas is urged to help expand solar power

2010 Feb 10 
Texas "has what it takes to be a national leader in solar power," including ample sunshine, but it needs to embrace more ambitious policies and adopt new financial incentives to make it happen, according to a "Lone Star Power" report issued Wednesday by Environment Texas and the Go Solar Texas Coalition.
The groups urged Gov. Rick Perry -- in a letter signed by more than 80 businesses, including 12 in Dallas-Fort Worth -- to make development of solar power a much higher priority.
The biggest criticism of solar has been its high cost compared with other energy sources. But the report contends that if Texas electric companies would "offer a variety of incentives and rebates to reduce the upfront cost," that would "help create economies of scale to make solar affordable for everyone and create a major economic engine for the state to boot."
Oncor Electric Delivery, the major electric transmission and distribution company in North Texas, has a Texas Solar Photovoltaic Program to provide financial incentives for solar installations.
The Texas Public Utility Commission is considering adopting a new target of 500 megawatts of new nonwind renewable energy by 2015, an amount roughly equal to the generating capacity of a single coal-fired power plant. But the Go Solar Texas Coalition wants the state to aim for 1,000 megawatts of solar power by 2015 and 5,000 megawatts by 2025, which would still be less than 10 percent of Texas' total generating capacity. Solar now provides less than 1 percent of Texas' power.
Four potential solar facilities -- totaling 459 megawatts -- could be established in Presidio, Pecos and Tom Green counties in West Texas, said Dottie Roark, a spokeswoman for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, operator of the power grid for most of the state.
 
Read more:  http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/02/10/1961196/texas-is-urged-to-help-expand.html

Want to help with Global-Warming? Please visit http://www.whiteearth.org
Want to read more about Global-Warming? Please visit http://www.christopherbeau.com
Please become a fan of the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/WhiteEarthorg/119367692642 and http://www.facebook.com/pages/WhiteEarth/165767310764
Become a friend on Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/christopherbeau
Follow me on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/christopherbeau
Become a follower of this blog
When you buy art on http://www.artsymphony.com 100% of your investment goes to sponsor WhiteEarth