Wind power capacity surpasses coal in Texas

• 7 years ago (2017-10-17)
• David Flin

North America 1021 Wind 257

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The University of Texas at Austin has issued a report that shows that wind power generation capacity in Texas may have already surpassed coal-fired capacity in the state, and wind will almost certainly overtake coal by early next year.

The Energy Institute report follows the announcements of the closure of three large coal plants in Texas owned by Vistra Energy, Big Brown, Sandow, and Monticello. These plants are operated by Luminant, a subsidiary of Vista Energy. All three plants are set to close in early 2018. Vistra said that the plants are no longer economic to operate. The three plants have a combined generating capacity of 4.2 GW.

Curt Morgan, President and CEO of Vistra Energy, said: “The market’s unprecedented low power price environment has profoundly affected Vistra’s operating revenues, and no longer supports continued investment in the coal plants.”

The Energy Institute said: “New coal retirements announced by Luminant means ERCOT will soon lose significant coal-fired generation capacity. At the same time, wind-powered capacity is expected to increase by 4000 MW by 2018, meaning wind capacity will soon exceed coal capacity in Texas, if it has not already done so. By the end of 2018, wind may have 10 GW more capacity than coal in ERCOT.”