Texas Has a Golden Opportunity for Clean Energy

The state's biggest electricity generator, Luminant, recently announced the closing of three coal-fired power plants in Texas, but out of the coal ashes could rise a phoenix. The blighted land around these power plants presents a unique opportunity for clean energy investment, specifically utility-scale solar. For 40 years, these "mine mouth" power plants, those that generate power from coal mined on site, have used the vast and shallow belts of lignite coal that underlay sections of eastern Texas to provide reliable and cheap, but dirty, electricity. In their wake, they leave behind thousands of acres of contaminated land surrounding the plants, some of which has already been reclaimed. And this land is particularly well suited for large solar farms. Consider the following: There is steady demand. Market forces including low wholesale electricity prices, cheap natural gas and increased renewable generation have made operating these three plants uneconomical.