Can renewable technology reach the Gulf Coast?

Renewable energy is becoming a major player in powering cities like Houston. It helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adds power to the grid.

As of 3 p.m. on Friday, May 10, ERCOT reported that renewable energy, including nuclear, wind and solar, accounted for 52% of total electricity demand. This number varies depending on factors such as weather.

More renewable technologies are likely to permeate Texas' coastline in the coming years. 2011 saw the birth of the Eco-Wave Power floater, which generates electricity near the coast and continues to be installed around the world.

They plan to install their first U.S. buoy in the Port of Los Angeles this year, but CEO Inna Braverman expects to see buoys on the Gulf Coast in the future.

“I think it should definitely touch the Texas coastline. We did a feasibility study with Shell and were funded by Shell to select the best location on the U.S. coastline. From that research, we came up with about seven locations in Texas that already had breakwaters and where we could build a power plant. Some of them are megawatts, which is equivalent to 10,000 homes,” Braverman said.

There are supply and demand concerns during Texas' hot and cold spells, and other factors will stress the power grid in the future. Dr. Harris Krishnamoorthy of the University of Houston says there are two major drivers.

“Primarily industrial and population growth. Texas is experiencing both. ERCOT expects peak electricity demand to increase from about 90 GW (summer 2024) to about 150 GW (2030), which It is a significant increase,” Krishnamoorthy said.