For the past few weeks, Texans have been going through an unusual heat wave. This puts pressure on its electricity grid as everyone runs their air conditioners at the same time.

Like New England, Texas generates most of its electricity using gas. But Texas also has an extraordinary amount of wind and solar power. Texas has 20 GW of solar energy available. How much is that? It’s what New England consumes on a hot summer day. But Texas also has about twice that in wind energy. All in all, solar and wind are supplying about half of Texas’ electricity these days.

New England needs to up its game. Our grid can handle a lot more renewable electricity. We don’t need another gas pipeline from Pennsylvania. We need to stop burning gas and oil, in part because it is expensive. And, with all the wildfires, who needs the extra pollution?

Yes, new offshore wind farms will also be expensive — at first. Prices will decline. Importing hydroelectricity from Quebec is part of the solution. Keeping Seabrook and Millstone nuclear plants open makes sense.

But New England should install more solar panels. Putting panels on your home reduces the overall demand to the grid, which means we don’t need to build as many new power lines. It also means we can retire our natural gas plants earlier. Tomorrow’s energy future requires a combination of solutions: weatherizing buildings, heat pumps, wind and solar energy, batteries, existing nuclear, and demand-side management. Let’s get on with it!

Thomas Webler

Shelburne

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