ERCOT sees Texas wind, solar surge as coal plants retire

The US government’s Clean Power Plan curbing CO2 emissions could force closure of at least six or seven large coal-fired generation plants within the main Texas power grid, where as much as 23GW of new solar and wind capacity may be needed through 2030 to help replace lost capacity and meet future demand growth, according to a new analysis.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) study forecasts that requirements of the federal plan will result in retirement of at least 4GW of coal generation capacity, about 25% of the coal fleet within the region. The ERCOT grid serves about 90% of the state’s electric load.

This is notably less than about 8.7GW of coal-fired capacity that ERCOT forecast last November could be shuttered in an initial analysis based on a preliminary version of the Clean Power Plan drawn by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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ERCOT sees Texas wind, solar surge as coal plants retire