Texas Tops Nation in Wind Power, and Capacity Still Rising

Texas has more than 20,000 megawatts of wind power capacity, nearly one-fourth of the total capacity in the country.

Wind turbines.

Oil has long been the energy king in Texas and will be for the foreseeable future, but the Lone Star state also leads the country in wind power capacity.

Massive power purchase agreements for factories such as Arlington’s General Motors Assembly Plant and other large data centers and facilities are propelling the wind industry to new heights, the Dallas Morning News reported.

GM expects all of its Texas facilities to be wind-powered in the future. Facebook’s forthcoming data center in Fort Worth will be powered by a wind farm its helping build near Wichita Falls.

Texas has more than 20,000 megawatts of wind power capacity, nearly one-fourth of the total capacity in the country.

The wind doesn’t always blow and that’s been a drawback of wind power for years, but Texas has enough capacity statewide that it evens out.

Solar power is also growing fast in Texas with more than 9,000 people working in the industry in 2016, up 34 percent from the previous year, according to the Solar Foundation.


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