Renewable Texas Energy
 

 

Al Gore at Netroots Nation Conference


Organic Solar Concentrators - 10 fold increases in the power from PV cells, without the need for solar tracking

The cost of photovoltaic power can be reduced with organic solar concentrators. These are planar waveguides with a thin-film organic coating on the face and inorganic solar cells attached to the edges. Light is absorbed by the coating and reemitted into waveguide modes for collection by the solar cells. We report single- and tandem-waveguide organic solar concentrators with quantum efficiencies exceeding 50% and projected power conversion efficiencies as high as 6.8%. The exploitation of near-field energy transfer, solid-state solvation, and phosphorescence enables 10-fold increases in the power obtained from photovoltaic cells, without the need for solar tracking. Science Magazine, 11 July 2008
Read the rest of the article at Science Magazine (subscription required)


Action Needed to Create Superhighways for Renewables

Investing in Wind Power Is Critical to Texas' Future,
Public Interest Groups and Legislators Tell Officials


Wind benefits for Texas

Wind Energy Presentations:


April 24 and 25th 2008:
The Texas Solar Forum brought together a variety of stakeholders, including solar executives, elected officials, manufacturers, electric utility providers, homebuilders, retailers, financiers, entrepreneurs, and other interested parties, to learn about the status of the global solar industry, how citizens in other states and countries have benefited from their thriving solar industries, and potential methods to create similar self-sustaining solar marketplaces in Texas.

Download PowerPoint presentations given by conference speakers.

  • April 28, 2008
    Major Corporate Shift to Solar Energy and LEDs

    There's a new standing order in corporate America and it goes almost exactly like this: Be much more efficient in your energy usage.Read more...

  • April 4, 2008
    Solar company sale could mean landmark deal is near
    A solar industry giant has acquired a local installer, fueling speculation it is nearing a multimillion dollar agreement with Multnomah County to install photovoltaic electrical systems on local rooftops. Read more...
  • March 30, 2008
    Dallas Morning News Editorial: PUC should encourage solar power
    Compensate homeowners with solar panels Read more...


SECO report

Download the new report Renewable Energy in Texas by Dub Taylor, Director State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) 2007


New Renewable Energy Brochure:
Download and read it now

Support More Renewable Energy for Texas!
How Do We Ensure A Clean , Secure, Independent Energy Future.... And Avoid A Future That’s Unsafe, Unhealthy, and UN-TEXAN?

The Proposed Texas Energy Plan Will Send Billions Of Dollars Out of State and to Foreign Countries. Clean Coal Is No Solution.

  • Zero emission coal plants continue to create pollution through mining, transportation, production, and waste disposal.
  • Current and proposed coal plants will send $48 billion over 30 years to Wyoming for imported coal.*
    *Based on six new coal plants in Texas over the next 20 years.
Read more...


What Renewable Energy Means to Texas
Wind-Related Jobs and Tax Base on the Rise. More than $1 billion of new wind development is building the tax base in rural west Texas and supporting manufacturing jobs statewide. And since the fuel is free, capital-intensive wind power plants create more jobs and pay more property taxes per unit of electricity produced than coal or natural gas.

Why is this Happening?
Texas' Renewable Portfolio Standard, signed into law by Gov. George Bush in 1999, specifies that 2,000 Megawatts of new renewable capacity will be built in Texas by 2009. The Texas Public Utility Commission, then led by current FERC Chairman Pat Wood, crafted detailed rules for the program with a market-based system of tradable renewable energy credits. This clear-cut policy encouraged construction of some of the world's largest wind power projects that now deliver clean energy at prices lower than ever before achieved. The current cost competitiveness of wind power has Texas five years ahead of its renewables construction schedule, almost half way to meeting its 2,000 Megawatt goal.

Read the full report - What Renewable Energy Means to Texas


Renewable Resources: The New Texas Energy Powerhouse
A report on the economic benefits of renewable energy in Texas and how to keep them growing

Wind power is delivering significant economic benefits to Texas and has the potential to be a major economic force in the future. Fewer than six years after the state 's first commercial utility-scale wind power plant was installed, Texas has 1,100 Megawatts of wind power on the ground. In response to the Texas legislature's renewable energy requirement,utilities and wind companies invested $1 billion in 2001 to build 912 Megawatts of new wind power projects.

The completed plants created 2,500 quality jobs with a payroll of $75 million,will deliver $13.3 million in tax revenue for schools and counties and pay landowners $2.5 million in royalty income in 2002 alone. The multiplier effect of this new investment activity will stimulate another 2,900 indirect jobs in Texas.Wind power is bringing relief to rural Texas and creating jobs statewide.

Read the full report - Renewable Resources: The New Texas Energy Powerhouse