Texas
The Land of Energy STORY BY YOANN HISPA, CEO & CO-FOUNDER OF LANDGATE
F
or most people, it’s no surprise that Texas leads the nation in oil and gas production. According to LandGate’s data, Texas produced 1.8 billion barrels of oil in 2021, where the second state, New Mexico, produced a quarter of that. All of the other states combined have less oil and gas production than Texas alone.
Figure 1. Top 10 U.S. States Solar Farms Capacity vs Time
Fewer people know that the Lone Star State is also the champion of renewable energy. Texas experienced the largest increase in solar and wind energy development in 2021 and 2022. It leads the nation in wind energy capacity and is second in solar energy capacity behind California. With a 47 GW total that includes active farms as well as those that are under construction and being planned, the state has the nation’s greatest renewable energy capacity. The operative question is how will the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy impact the energy dominance and land of Texas?
Figure 2. Top 10 U.S. States Solar Farms Production vs Time
While Texas doesn’t have the largest number of solar farms active, built or planned in 2022, the solar farms in Texas are Texas-size, so the state experienced the largest increase in solar farm capacity in 2021 and 2022. Texas has an estimated 33 GW of wind energy capacity in 2022 (Figure 3). It has more wind capacity than the next three highest wind energy producing states, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Texas is the king of energy, not only oil and gas but for renewable energy, too. Experts estimate it will take millions of acres of renewable energy development to replace fossil fuel energy. The shift from fossil fuels
Figure 3. 2022 U.S. Wind Farms Capacity by State
