For the first time ever, solar is set to generate more electricity than coal in the power market managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Nobody is building new coal power plants in the state, but developers are adding more solar there than anywhere else in the country. As a result of those diverging trajectories, the federal government expects ERCOT will receive 78 billion kilowatt-hours from solar in 2026, and just 60 from coal.
This trend does have seasonal variations. Last year, solar output beat coal on a monthly basis from March through August, and this year it is expected to do so from March through December, per the US Energy Information Administration at the Department of Energy.
My friends in Texas tell me it’s a lot more liberal than outsiders would think. The shit-kicking Marlboro man image has been fading into the past for some time, but got CPR from politicians like Ted Cruz who moved there from outside to milk the image for their own gain. Texans are not historically Republican - throughout the 20th century they voted for Democratic presidents 2/3 of the time.