middle of the pack

Report: Texas has promising capacity for clean electricity, but still falls behind nationally

In Texas only 38 percent of the state’s electricity capacity comes from clean electricity. Photo via Getty Images

In a new report that looked at states with the cleanest electricity across the country, Texas seems to have some room for improvement.

According to the report from SmartAsset, Texas has the most clean energy capacity at 56,405 megawatts, but continues to trail states with similar geographic characteristics in overall clean energy prevalence.

Texas has the largest wind capacity to help generate clean energy with over three times more than Iowa, which is the second-biggest wind power producer. Clean electricity made up 57 percent of Iowa’s total energy capacity (22,546.4 megawatts).

However, in Texas only 38 percent of the state’s electricity capacity comes from clean electricity. Texas also has the second-largest solar capacity, which means Texas has the most means, space, and potential to accommodate cleaner electricity.

Texas as a whole, ranked No. 22 on the list for states with the most clean energy. Washington was No.1 and California, comparable in geographic size to Texas, came in at No. 11. California had 44.3 percent of its energy capacity being from clean energy.

SmartAsset compiled its study by comparing the amount of geothermal, solar, wind and nuclear operations as a percentage of a state’s full electricity production capacity. States were ranked based on the percentage of clean energy sources used to generate the total net summer electricity production capacity. According to the report, the 2022 data comes from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Last year, home service management platform Thumbtack ranked cities based upon solar panel installations. Texas fared better here, and the Lone Star State split up four Californian cities in the top five of that report.

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A View From HETI

Under a new agreement, ExxonMobil and Rice University aim to develop “systematic and comprehensive solutions” to support the global energy transition. Photo via Getty Images.

Houston-based ExxonMobil and Rice University announced a master research agreement this week to collaborate on research initiatives on sustainable energy efforts and solutions. The agreement includes one project that’s underway and more that are expected to launch this year.

“Our commitment to science and engineering, combined with Rice’s exceptional resources for research and innovation, will drive solutions to help meet growing energy demand,” Mike Zamora, president of ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Co., said in a news release. “We’re thrilled to work together with Rice.”

Rice and Exxon will aim to develop “systematic and comprehensive solutions” to support the global energy transition, according to Rice. The university will pull from the university’s prowess in materials science, polymers and catalysts, high-performance computing and applied mathematics.

“Our agreement with ExxonMobil highlights Rice’s ability to bring together diverse expertise to create lasting solutions,” Ramamoorthy Ramesh, executive vice president for research at Rice, said in the release. “This collaboration allows us to tackle key challenges in energy, water and resource sustainability by harnessing the power of an interdisciplinary systems approach.”

The first research project under the agreement focuses on developing advanced technologies to treat desalinated produced water from oil and gas operations for potential reuse. It's being led by Qilin Li, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice and co-director of the Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT) Center.

Li’s research employs electrochemical advanced oxidation processes to remove harmful organic compounds and ammonia-nitrogen, aiming to make the water safe for applications such as agriculture, wildlife and industrial processes. Additionally, the project explores recovering ammonia and producing hydrogen, contributing to sustainable resource management.

Additional projects under the agreement with Exxon are set to launch in the coming months and years, according to Rice.

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