Dive Brief:

Texas wind generation narrowly edged out coal in the first half of this year — a first since the Electric Reliability Council of Texas began tracking the state's fuel mix in 2003.

ERCOT's Demand and Energy Report shows wind energy contributed 21.78% of the grid's generation through June, compared with 21.37% for coal. Gas-fired resources generated more than 40% of Texas' electricity, with nuclear adding about 10%.

Similar trends are happening nationally. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says renewable energy resources, including hydroelectricity, exceeded coal-fired generation for the first time in April.

Dive Insight:

The grid operator for most of the Lone Star State has been adding wind energy at a rapid clip for years, and the results are showing.

Wind was virtually nonexistent on the state's grid in 2003, and now generates about a fifth of the state's energy.

According to ERCOT's data, wind resources generated almost 39,000 GWh in the first half of this year, nudging out coal. Gas generators roughly doubled that volume.

ERCOT

And projects in ERCOT's interconnection queue give a clear indication of where the state's resource mix is headed.

Of 109 GW listed in the grid operator's monthly Generator Interconnection Status Report, more than 94 GW is wind and solar while gas makes up less than 10 GW and none is coal.

ERCOT

Texas coal did generate more energy than wind in June (as well as in January and February). The state is facing a tight supply-demand balance across its grid this summer, driven by demand from the oil and gas industry, along with new industrial loads.

ERCOT expects higher planning reserve margins between 2020 and 2023 as new wind and solar projects in the interconnection queue come online. More than 700 MW of wind and solar capacity have been approved for commercial operations since a December 2018 Capacity, Demand and Reserves Report.

On the national stage, electricity generation from renewable sources exceeded coal-fired generation for the first time, with renewable sources providing 23% of total generation compared with coal's 20%, according to EIA. There were seasonal factors at play, said EIA, "as well as long-term increases in renewable generation and decreases in coal generation."