Texas can be a model for the nation on how to effectively replace coal with wind and solar for the state’s energy needs while meeting environmental goals, according to new research by Rice University engineers.
Texas can be a model for the nation on how to effectively replace coal with wind and solar for the state’s energy needs while meeting environmental goals, according to new research by Rice University engineers.
The new work led by environmental engineer Daniel Cohan and senior computer science major Richard Morse of Rice’s George R. Brown School of Engineering uses optimization modeling to identify the least-cost combinations of proposed wind and solar projects with the potential to replace coal-fired power generation in Texas.
As the authors state in the paper, which appears in the journal Renewables: Wind, Water, and Solar, “Simply put, it’s not always windy and not always sunny, but it’s almost always windy or sunny somewhere in Texas.”
Cohan said that could enable wind and solar to replace nearly all coal output, especially if wind and solar projects are sited in locations that provide complementary output. The new paper builds upon a 2018 study from his lab.
Read more at: Rice University
The Brazos Wind Farm, near Fluvanna, Texas. A Rice University study finds that building a fraction of the wind and solar projects already proposed in Texas could eliminate the state’s remaining coal power plants and their emissions. (Photo Credit: Wikipedia)
