Repower Texas with Clean Energy
Too much of our energy comes from dirty sources that harm our environment. But by harnessing the power of the wind, tapping the power of the sun, and using less energy in the first place, we can repower our lives with clean energy that doesn’t pollute and never runs out.
With more wind and solar, we can move to 100% clean energy
Too much of our energy comes from coal, oil and other dirty sources that wreak havoc on our environment.
We are surrounded by clean energy options — the power of the sun, the movement of the wind blowing in west Texas and off our coast, the heat of the earth, even the energy leaking from drafty windows in our homes and businesses. By using energy more efficiently and tapping our vast renewable energy resources, we can move to 100% clean energy that doesn’t pollute and never runs out.
Leading the Nation in Wind Energy
Thanks in part to renewable energy standards adopted by the Texas Legislature in 1999 and 2005, Texas has become the national leader for wind power. If we were a nation, we’d rank 4th in the world for the number of installed wind turbines. Wind power has helped reduce air pollution, create jobs, and lower wholesale electricity prices.
We need to keep investing in wind power, including supporting the development of offshore wind farms in the Gulf of Mexico.
It's time for Texas to go solar
Here in Texas, solar power is a particularly powerful, but largely untapped resource.
Attractive for its clean, reliable, and independent energy, solar is being used by schools, homes — even the oil industry. Texas helped create a boom for wind power, and it can do the same for solar.
In particular, it's time to help Texas Go Solar by creating rebates and incentives to make it easier for homeowners and businesses to install solar on their rooftops, investing in solar for schools and in large-scale solar farms, and requiring utilities to pay consumers a fair price for surplus electricity they generate.
Efficient buildings will spur energy savings
America’s homes are like cars that only get 10 miles to the gallon. Buildings consume 40% of America’s energy, and much of that energy is literally flying out the window rather than heating or cooling our homes and businesses. What’s worse, energy-wasting buildings are responsible for nearly half of our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Millions of Americans are already weather-stripping doors and windows, insulating attics and making their homes more energy efficient and thus healthier, more comfortable and less costly to heat and cool.
If everyone makes these small changes, they can really add up — to 334 million fewer metric tons of global warming pollution emitted each year, the equivalent of taking 65.5 million cars off the road. The average family could save up to $400 on their utility bills.
Visit our guide, "Plug Into Clean Energy," for tips on how to give your home an efficiency upgrade.
Key Facts
- From 2010 to 2011, jobs in the solar sector grew 10 times faster than the rest of the economy.
- By making our homes, businesses and other buildings just 20% more efficient, we could save enough energy each year to power almost 100 million homes.
- With more than 10,000 megawatts installed, Texas is ranked first in the nation for wind power. Wind turbines supplied 7.8% of Texas’ electricity needs in 2011.