Renewable energy sources came through in a big way this week for Texas, when temperatures and electricity demand reached record levels.
On Sunday, Texans hit a new record for electricity demand, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, as triple-digit temperatures baked the state. But as Dallas-Fort-Worth tied a 111-year-old daily record for high temperature, wind and solar power provided about a third of the state’s electricity, a higher portion than usual.
“Part of this incredible heat is that it’s changes in temperature that causes wind. So in both wind and solar, we’re seeing performance well above what ERCOT was projecting for those resources this time of the year,” said Jeff Clark, president of the Advanced Power Alliance, a renewable energy trade organization.
