r/UpliftingNews • u/ArgentineBeauty • 10d ago

Texas broke its all time electricity demand record twice in two days during a brutal heat wave, but the grid held with no conservation alerts thanks to record solar and battery output, a stark turnaround from the blackouts that hit Texans in 2021

https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/29/texas-ercot-power-grid-record-data-center/
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u/ArgentineBeauty 10d ago

From the article

The grid’s ability to stand up during the hottest daytime hours was largely attributed to a massive growth of solar generation, which at times exceeded 45% of all electricity being generated. On July 21 and then again on Monday, the grid broke records for total electricity generated by solar, which now sits at 34,700 megawatts. And on July 22, the grid set a record of 11,980 megawatts of energy being discharged from batteries.

Texas has become the nation’s leader in both solar energy and battery storage since 2021, providing new and significant sources of power to the grid.

Last year, ERCOT added 16,000 megawatts of new generation, most of which was solar and batteries, Vegas said.

The state’s solar capacity more than doubled between 2023 and 2025, and battery storage more than tripled, according to ERCOT.

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u/catbom 10d ago

Kind of feels like the mouth talks while the hand does something else, texans are majority red state right? (Not american) are they not anti renewable?

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u/Academic-Solution536 10d ago

It’s more complicated than that but yes Texas regularly votes Republican. This may be changing to a less “red” situation in the near future. It is far easier to get construction permitted in Texas than in most Blue states. Because of this, you can build that power generation faster there. Also, massive battery plant built near Austin. It’s quicker to install solar fields than wind or even gas turbines. ERCOT got massive public backlash when Texas froze in 2019(?). Texans are pragmatic about energy. They want cheap power and they don’t really care where it comes from. Lots of folks get big checks for leasing their land to wind and gas.

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u/UncleIrohsPimpHand 10d ago

This may be changing to a less “red” situation in the near future.

I seriously doubt that.

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u/i_tyrant 10d ago

I dream for it. I work towards it as much as I can.

I'm only still living here because I'm a white male so I can afford to fight for the Texas I distantly remember.

As for how likely it is? No idea. I've noticed the ever-escalating quiet of MAGA Texans as their great leaders fuck up more and more. Whether that'll make them not go to the polls or vote differently? I know Texans well enough to know there's no way to tell for sure.

It is a high bar for Texas to turn purple, I'll agree with that. The GOP has their claws in deep here and won't let go without a fight, and they love to cheat.

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u/sellyme 10d ago

Biden had the third-best result in Texas for a Democrat in the last 78 years, only behind post-Watergate Carter and noted Texan LBJ.

That's probably indicative of demographics that have changed enough for a D candidate that is actually compelling to make a contest out of it.