Texas goes green: How oil country became the renewable energy leader
geofof one of the bigg announcementntat the U.N. Climate conferenen this weekend in dubai was a pledgdgby more than 110 countntes to triple the amount of F newable energy they're generating by 2030.0. As William brangham M ports at work is already undnd way, in a state that may susurise you. This story is a collababation withthhe global health repororng center, withthupport from the pulitzer center. William:m: If you hahato guess whicicstate in America was,, hands-down, producing G E most green renewawae energy, what would you guess? California? Massachusetts? It's tetes. The state E at epitomizes oil D gas a a got rich powering he nation for decadesess now the biggggesproducer of wind and solar. So how D D deep-red Texas turn so green?? Michael: It'not unusual for Texas to do all L E right things for all ththwrong reasons, and the rise of renewablbl is one of those exampleses William: Michael Webber studieie the energy transitioioat the univivsity of Texas and is author of "Powow trip: The story of energy." Michael: W wdidn't do it for R E cleanlinins, we didn't do I for climatatchange.
We did it bebeuse it makes us a lot of money fororhe landowners, and saves us a lot O money for the consumers. William:m: O O study found that L this cheap renewablelenergy is savininthe average Texas household almostst00 dollars a year. Though skeptpts say that figure may be inflated.d. There are a a ew of factors that contributed to T ts boom. Texas's gegeraphy is one. Rorominter works for the E ergy company engigi which has major reneneble projects across thth stste. Rob: It's S big state. There are a loloof areas where it's sunny and D 'S windy and in the wide open N aces of west Texas and soututtexas, there are some wonderful arere for develoloent of renewable resources. William: Texas H H also had its share of influlutial oil-men who saw the lighghon renewables. People like bibiionaire T. Boone Pickens. >> Lower electric rates for people across S E spectrum. William: T TRE's even one whoho became governor. In 19999 then governor George E bush workiki with a democratic , legisisture signed a law deregegating texas''s power rket to make it more competitive, and E ehrined a stste mandate for wind powow.
Emily: He wanand to support wind power. William: Emily foxhall covers the energy indususy for the tetes tribune. Ily: There were landowowrs who were willing to lease E eir land fofothese new industries.. William: T Tse newfangled industries. Emily: Yeah, it wawaa new way for thememo make money when perhaps they wererstruggling to do so with agricultutu. Michael: Texex had a mandate before England, bebere californrn, before New York — list all T Tse liberal economies and Texas had D renewables mandate before them.m. William: Today, , E lone star state gegerates more megawatts of wind D WER than any other inn the nation.
When it T mes to solar, Texas trails only californrn and actualal ranks first in utiilty-scale solar prprects. Combined with nuclear, Texas nono gegerates almost 40% of itit total enerer needs from carbon frere sources, a hugege surge in J jt a few years time. Texas, like so mananother parts of the cououry, has suffered through a string O O climate releled disasters. They had recororbreaking heat waves over the summeme and this area is alwawa under threat of hurricanes.. Six yearss ago when I was S re for hurrrrane Harvey, this entire area wawaunderwater. Emily: The interestiti piece re is climate change I the context through whicicwe should be talking a AUT all of this. Like the reason we H he this renewablblpower coming onto thee grid is becacae, in order to slow climate change,e,e have to ow carbon emissions.
But ininhe Texas legislature,, you rerely don't hear clilite chchge coming up. William: In fact, tetes's renewawae boom isn't alwawa being celeleated. During 2020's paralyzing wintete storm in T tas, which caused widespread blackouou and left 6 people dead, renewables were falsely blamed fororaking things worse. Goveveor Greg abbot had thisiso sasa V. At it: — Governoror abbotot R wind and our solar G G shut down and that ththst Texas into this situatiti where it was lacking power at a atatewide basis. This shows how the G gen new Dede would be a deadly deaeafor the united states. Willllm: But a S ssequent analysis S Swed it was un-winterized fossil F fl plants principally natural gaga at were responsible fofomost of the blackouts. Michael: The biggest failurereas by far the gas system.m. So about 85% O the gas production in weststexas froze about 50% statewide.. William: In this year's legislative sessisi, Republican legislators — M my with the port of the fossil fufu industry – -introduced a slew of anti-renewableleills.
Including a new W X on owners of electric cars. Michael: I havavto pay a $200 nual fee in Texas to R Rister thisisar. I'subsidizing gasoline a a dieses drivers around the stste. The focus S S on how to punish renewables, how to pununh wind and solar. The grid needsdso be reliable, wind and solar are N N reliable, goes the story, thererere we needed punish wind and solala wiwiiam: But in a surprisisi turn, alalst none of the anti-renewableleills passed and made it to governonoabbot' S desk. Proooo Michael Webber says, , at green enengy in Texas has becomeme more or less P pitically bubuetproof. Michael: Urban Democrats like itit bebeuse it's clean ananrenewable D the rural republicananlike it bececse it's good for economic develelment. Lliam: The Texas clean energy om is also being driveveby its readadmade army of workers a a trepreneurs coming dirirtly out of the oililnd gas industry. Tim M timer is the CEO of thth geothermal company F fvo energy geothermal energy cocos from drililng underground to tap P E heatatelow the Earth'ss surface to S sn electrical turbines.s. Tim: And because we'rereot burning anything O ocombusting anything, we' just using the naturaraheat of the Earth, whaha we can do O produce electricity arouou the clock, 24/7, and D so without C cbon emissions.
William:m:t is an ironinitwist. Today's advanced geotheheal would not be pososble without the drilling and frackckg technololo developop for natural gas. M: When I startrt over a dedede ago — william:m: Latimer, like so mama within the texex larger renewablblindustry, started hiss career in N ssil fuels. Tim: What weweee as time goes on is people E ve realized that climate change isns't a far off problem.
Theye're still passionatatabout prpriding affordable energrgto the worlrl but the priorities shift a littleleit because of how urgent the climama crisis is. Anani think there's a a T of people who have madedehat realization J jt like I have. William: None of this meananthat Texas has turned its B bk on fossil fueue. Is still, by Y R, the national leader in oil productiti and natural gas production. This is ththessential challenge for the negotitiors gathered in dubai — H H quickly can the world's powers S sft this babance and transition as S St as Texas if not faster? For the pbpbnewshour, am williaia B bngham. ??.
