Texas is tops among US states when it comes to installed wind power generation capacity, having added 1,826 megawatts (MW) in 2012 to bring its cumulative total to a whopping 12.212 gigawatts (GW), enough to power nearly 3 million average American homes, according to the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) latest industry report.
Ongoing improvements in wind turbine technology, manufacturing processes, installation and operations and maintenance, along with investments in transmission infrastructure, bode well for the future. The same is true for solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems, and though solar energy hasn’t caught on nearly as fast as wind power, Texas is no slouch there either, ranking seventh nationwide in terms of installed solar power generation capacity, according to the Solar Energy Industry Association’s third quarter 2012 state rankings.
Progress on the clean energy front is happening extraordinarily fast. So much so, in fact, that in its latest biennial Long Term System Assessment report to the Texas legislature, regional grid operator the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) “found that if you use updated wind and solar power characteristics like cost and actual output to reflect real world conditions, rather than previously used – assumed characteristics, wind and solar are more competitive than natural gas over the next 20 years,” Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) Colin Meehan. See new-ercot-report-shows-that-texas-wind-and-solar-are-highly-competitive-with-natural-gas/
You can view Texas Electricity Market prices online at: http://www.ercot.com/content/cdr/contours/rtmLmpHg.html
The Locational Marginal Pricing (LMP) Contour Map offers a dynamic view of Real-Time resource node LMPs and both Day-Ahead Market and Real-Time Settlement Point Prices throughout the ERCOT region.
Data Displays: The LMP Contour Map has three data displays:
- Real-Time LMPs
- Real-Time SPPs
- Day-Ahead SPPs
View Types: The map has two view types:
- Standard Gradient
- High Gradient
Standard Gradient represents 34 preset contour levels from -$250 to $4500. High Gradient represents 34 contour levels determined by the min/max values of the data.
Display Modes: The map has two display modes:
- HTML
- KML
The default view is HTML. In HTML view, hover over the points and see the settlement point price.
To use the KML view files, the Google Earth™ (http://www.google.com/earth/index.html) application must be installed on the user’s system. Once Google Earth™ is installed, click one of the options after “Download KML”:
- Contours and Points
- Points Only
In the KML view, click on the point and see the information balloon with complete details. Dots on the map represent settlement points at plant locations. If a plant has multiple settlement points, the max absolute value is displayed. In order to enhance the map’s view, users should download the KML file (http://www.ercot.com/content/cdr/contours/texas_counties.kml) which will display Texas county boundaries. In Google Earth™, move this file from ”Temporary Places” to “My Places” by dragging the file.
Real-Time LMPs are updated after every SCED run. Real-Time SPPs are updated every 15 minutes. Day-Ahead SPPs are updated daily when DAM closes.
The data and prices provided through the links above are preliminary and not reflective of real time conditions. Such information should not be relied upon for settlement or other purposes. ERCOT makes no representations or warranties regarding the correctness or veracity of the data and prices provided through dashboards and shall not be responsible for any parties reliance on any such information.
