Doug Lewin

Rapid Demand Growth Outpaced by New Supply in Texas: Grid Roundup #70 EIA projects 14% electric demand growth in Texas in 2026; Texas now installing nearly two gigawatts of supply per month; 150% increase in gas plants in the queue; PUC reveals SB 6 implementation plans

Texas installed nearly 2 gigawatts of supply in July & 5 GW over the last 3 months; there's a 150% increase in gas plants in the interconnection queue. We'll need it: EIA projects 14% demand growth in Texas in 2026. Also, PUC reveals SB 6 large load plans.
www.douglewin.com/p/rapid-dem...

Remember.

When some clown on television bashes wind and solar because "we don't know how to store the energy"

He is full-on lying.

Industrial scale batteries have already come online in Texas.

You know... Texas.

More are on the horizon, using different technologies to store energy.

“This is how energy policy should work: encourage the use of cheap renewables whenever possible, use load flexibility, demand response, and storage regularly to shape load, and burn “incremental gas” when needed. That keeps costs low and reliability high.”

None of the Above The White House’s anti-energy policies contradict its AI agenda and undermine our economic future

If they're not careful, over the next three and a half years, the administration will end up with none of the above, just as they're trying to win the AI race.
www.douglewin.com/p/none-of-t...

Texas Businesses To Pay 54% More for Power Residential consumers will pay 20% more & 100,000 jobs will be lost, according to Energy Innovation's modeling. Dan O'Brien breaks down the impacts of lost power supply from the federal budget bill.

Residential consumers' bills will go up >20% and manufacturers and other large consumers will see increases of >50% (!) according to Energy Innovation's modeling. Texas is also projected to lose over 50 gigawatts of solar and 100,000 jobs. More here:
www.douglewin.com/p/texas-bus...

New Solar and Storage Records in Texas: Grid Roundup #69 Battery record set last night, solar record set today; ERCOT projects 84 gigawatt demand the next two days; important issues and upcoming comment and intervention deadlines at the PUC

Battery record set last night, solar record set today; ERCOT projects 84 gigawatt demand the next two days; thermal outages up sharply; important issues and upcoming comment and intervention deadlines at the PUC
www.douglewin.com/p/new-solar...

There's a new solar record in Texas, first time over 29,000 megawatts.

Demand is already above 80,000 megawatts and will likely be there for several hours today and the next couple days.

New battery record set last night at 6,300 megawatts will likely soon be broken.

Texas built its wealth on oil & gas. Now it’s backing nuclear.
HB14: $350M in grants, $2.7B proposed

Leaders like Abbott, Glotfelty & Reed Clay are pushing hard

“It just makes good sense, nuclear can return even more to the public.”

🎧 tinyurl.com/5bhznkdh
#nuclear #TexasEnergy

21st Century Fire: What Recent Wildfires Tell Us About Our Future A conversation with author John Vaillant on the story behind Fire Weather, the explosive wildfire that consumed a city, and what it reveals about the future

Author John Vaillant joined me to discuss the story behind his award-winning book Fire Weather which tells the story of the explosive wildfire that created its own weather, and what fires like those in Alberta, Texas, and elsewhere reveal about the future.
www.douglewin.com/p/21st-cent...

Higher Energy Costs From the OBBB: Reading & Podcast Picks, July 22, 2025 I was on Texas Public Radio yesterday talking about the federal budget bill; a Columbia study quantifies the damage from OBBB; data center rules and regulations start to take shape; and much more

I was on Texas Public Radio yesterday talking about the federal budget bill; a Columbia study quantifies the significant damage to American manufacturing from the OBBB; data center rules and regulations start to take shape. That and much more here:
www.douglewin.com/p/higher-en...

One of the hottest days of the year so far in Texas: 53% of the power on peak is coming from solar & wind. Wholesale power is ~$20 per megawatt-hour or 2 cents per kilowatt-hour. No conservation calls, no energy emergencies. ~20 gigawatts of extra power just sitting around.

Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' could mean bigger electric bills for Texans A report from the Texas Reliability Entity shows that the ERCOT grid is increasingly reliable. And that’s mostly because of solar and battery storage additions to the state’s energy portfolio. That di...

Looking forward to this today. Listen and even submit your questions in advance or call in live between 12-1p.m. CT today. I'll be on @texaspublicradio.bsky.social : www.tpr.org/podcast/the-...

Let’s listen to experts who are advocating for increased renewable energy resources who also have realtime examples from arguably the energy capital of the US… For those of us in New England, if Texas has figured this out how do we learn and apply those lessons.. great article and pod Doug 🙏

Doug is an expert on these things. I've found its good to listen to actual experts.

In contrast, the current secretary of energy is not an expert on these things and routinely says things that any expert would find very embarrassing.

@douglewin.bsky.social writing about the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress: "They’re literally creating energy scarcity in place of energy abundance." www.douglewin.com/p/energy-sca... 🔌💡

Energy Scarcity The President and Congress, with support from the DOE, are leading America into energy scarcity.

The President and Congress, with support from the DOE, are leading America into energy scarcity.
www.douglewin.com/p/energy-sc...

First time this summer that peak demand is above 79,000 megawatts. Nearly half of electricity demand is being met by wind and solar. Wholesale power prices are low.

Solar power and air conditioning are a fantastic match.

TRE: Solar and Storage Help Reliability; Texas Grid Roundup #68 Texas Reliability Entity says solar + storage helped avoid grid problems; large load workshop next week; 85 GW in the forecast next week; renewables reached 40% of generation so far in 2025

Texas Reliability Entity says solar + storage helped avoid grid problems in 2024, cautions against "disorganized integration" of large loads; PUC to hold a large load workshop; 85 GW forecast next week; renewables reach 40% of generation so far in 2025 www.douglewin.com/p/tre-solar...

AI data centers might finally unlock nuclear at scale.
⚛️ 40 GW of new demand = 40 new cities
⚛️ High willingness to pay for clean baseload
⚛️ Standardized demand = gigafactory potential
🎧 New Energy Capital Podcast w/ Matt Loszak
#nuclear #AI #energytransition

There's a new battery record in Texas. Last night was the first time batteries discharged over 6,000 megawatts of power to the ERCOT grid.

Solar record Thursday. Battery record Friday.

No conservation alerts, no grid emergencies. #txlege #txenergy

Most nuclear projects take 10+ years.
Aalo Atomics wants to flip that:
⚡ Factory-built reactors
⚡ Several GW/year
⚡ Real price discovery, unit by unit

It’s how solar & EVs scaled and now, maybe nuclear too.

🎧 New podcast: tinyurl.com/5bhznkdh
#nuclear #energytransition

Failure to Adapt As communities devastated by the July Fourth floods begin the long road to recovery, Texas needs to deal systemically and holistically with the increase in extreme weather

As communities devastated by the July Fourth floods begin the long road to recovery, Texas needs to deal systemically and holistically with the increase in extreme weather
www.douglewin.com/p/failure-t...

Power Costs Projected to Increase by $52 Billion: Grid Roundup #67 The federal budget bill will bring in a period of energy scarcity but the next six months will be interesting; Oncor files for a huge rate increase; ERCOT reports 25% growth in DERs in 2024

Budget bill passes, higher bills and stunted economic growth projected after a potentially rapid solar buildout; distributed energy resources (DERs) in ERCOT now add up to more than 6 GW, up 25% YoY; Oncor asked for a 13% increase to rates last week
www.douglewin.com/p/power-cos...

"Slightly" Less Energy Scarcity Here's a brief rundown of what's in — and out — of the Senate version of the budget bill, as well as links to the best summary articles I've seen so far

As we wait to see what the House will do, here's a brief rundown of what's in — and out — of the Senate version of the budget bill, as well as links to the best summary articles I've seen so far
www.douglewin.com/p/slightly-...

Shape Load Perfectly, Inject Energy Optimally with sonnen's Blake Richetta With partners, sonnen is offering solar + storage solutions to homeowners in Texas' competitive market and creating a large virtual power plant. It's a win-win for consumers and the grid.

With partners, sonnen is offering solar + storage solutions to homeowners in Texas' competitive market and creating a large virtual power plant. It's a win-win for consumers and the grid.
www.douglewin.com/p/shape-loa...

80% of new power globally is solar + storage.

This isn’t just clean energy, it’s a strategic lever for economic power.

If we gut incentives now, we don’t just fall behind, we hand China the advantage.
🎧 tinyurl.com/yjh6p7rp

What if we phased out clean energy incentives gradually, with bipartisan and durable support, instead of going off a cliff?

I asked Texas energy executive Sabah Bayatli if that kind of stability could save solar jobs and manufacturing.

🎧 tinyurl.com/yjh6p7rp

Energy Inflation In their attempt to knockout renewables, Congress may end up punching consumers in the mouth

In their attempt to knockout renewables, Congress may end up punching consumers in the mouth. Raising the cost of energy is deeply unpopular. There is a better way that would end the tax credits and avoid raising the cost of energy. www.douglewin.com/p/energy-in...

This is a semi-annual rec to follow @douglewin.bsky.social. He breaks down the Texas grid - the preeminent case study in adding renewables as fast as possible in America - and every fight along the way. www.douglewin.com

Incredible!

ERCOT (most of Texas) slashed its risk of inadequate generation from 16% to 0.48% in just one year

How?

10 GW of mostly solar and batteries were added.

Solar plus batteries can be built quickly and on budget. They often will solve reliability problems, not cause them.
#energysky