Engie employees visiting a wind farm for the Limestone Wind project, in Dawson, Texas (southern United States), on February 28, 2023 (AFP / Mark Felix)
Fields blackened by solar panels as far as the eye can see and forests of wind turbines that break the monotony of the plains: Texas, historic center of oil production in the United States, wants today to be at the forefront of a new energy revolution, that of renewables.
South of Dallas, the counties of Navarro and Limestone are symbolic of this transition: cradles of the Texas oil industry at the end of the 19th century, which made the region rich, they are today at the forefront of green energies.
A new wind farm was inaugurated there last week by the French energy company Engie, with 88 masts and a production capacity of 300 megawatts (MW).
Further west, in Abbott, another rural town, a 250 MW solar farm has started producing electricity, accompanied by an energy storage area using batteries.
According to the organization American Clean Power, Texas is the American state which in 2022 hosted the largest share of renewable energy projects for commercial and industrial companies. With 35% of energy capacity, it prances far ahead of the second, Illinois, in the north of the country, at 7%.
Aerial view of solar panels at the Engie Sun Valley Solar project in Hill County, Texas (southern United States), on March 1, 2023 (AFP/Mark Felix)
The vast southern state also concentrates 20% of the projects in progress.
Wind turbine towers, however, are still a long way from completely replacing oil derricks in the Texas landscape.
“Certainly, when we think of Texas, we see a great gas and oil state. I would rather say that Texas is rich in natural resources (…) and they are very good at managing these different resources”, underlines Frank Demaille, Deputy CEO of Engie.
– Multiple energy resources –
A land of refineries and the petrochemical industry, Texas has its own network to supply its 30 million inhabitants, an exception in the United States.
In 2021, an intense cold snap causing load shedding on the network had cut off several million households and killed more than 200 people, pushing this conservative state to strengthen and diversify its supply.
Engie employees during a visit to the Sun Valley Sollar project, in Hill County, Texas (southern United States), on March 1, 2023 (AFP/Mark Felix)
Texas today remains largely dependent on fossil fuels, with gas remaining at the top of its energy mix at the start of 2023 (42%, according to the network manager Ercot) alongside coal (11%). It gives more and more space to renewables, however, in particular wind power (29%) and solar power (11%). The remainder is supplied by nuclear power and hydraulics.
“We use conventional, carbon-based energy, but Texas is a leader in clean energy today. I think we will see a combination of the two in the future,” said Jeff Montgomery, president of Blattner Energy, which has completed 400 renewable energy projects nationwide.
“The gas is extracted to be sold to Europe, and the war in Ukraine has reinforced this dependence on American and especially Texan gas. At the same time, they have developed real expertise in solar and wind energy”, explains Frank Demaille.
The IRA, President Joe Biden’s big green plan passed last year, could accelerate the trend, by providing large subsidies for the energy transition.
– “Show usefulness” –
Aerial view of wind turbines of the Limestone Wind project, in Dawson, Texas (southern United States), February 28, 2023 (AFP / Mark Felix)
Taxes generated by renewable energy have improved schools, according to some local officials.
But some are more circumspect, like John Null, a 42-year-old engineer living in Navarro County, for whom nearby residents do not really benefit from investments made in wind power, while the gigantic masts appear in front of their windows. .
During the last cold spell in early February, “it would have been practical if a switch could transfer the energy produced here to the surrounding community”, he believes.
Projects aimed at supplying underprivileged areas are underway, such as on a former landfill where a wind farm is to be built, in a disadvantaged neighborhood of Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States.
“There are energy needs,” says Paul Curran, executive director of BQ Energy, which should start work this year for a 50MW solar installation.
And for this former executive of the oil industry, the two energies are not in competition.
“There is no problem if you carry out solar or wind projects in the right places, for the right markets. It is even well received by the oil industry and experts,” he says.
© 2023 AFP
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