Texas and oil have been an inexorable combination for well over a century. The oil and gas industry is the state’s largest economic engine, generating billions of dollars and supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs. But these days, Texas is meeting much of its rising electricity demand with renewable energy.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, wind and solar generation supplied nearly 40% of the electricity demand in the Texas independent grid for the first nine months of the year. Solar power generated 50% more electricity during that period than in the same period in 2024 and four times more than in 2021.
Wind generation was up by 4% compared to 2024 and 36% since 2021. That growth is in spite of political headwinds from the Trump administration’s strong opposition to wind power.
Meanwhile, the Texas grid also had the fastest electricity demand growth among U.S. electric grids between 2024 and 2025. This is a trend that is expected to continue through next year. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is tracking more than 200 gigawatts of new large load interconnection requests. These are requirements from large energy users like data centers and industrial facilities that connect to the grid and buy power from the Texas wholesale electricity market.
Natural gas is the largest source of electricity within the Texas grid, providing 43% of 2025 demand. This is down slightly from the 47% in the previous two years. Solar power and battery storage are expected to continue to grow.
