An Assessment and Comparison of Installed Solar and Wind Capacity in Texas

This paper presents the first-ever comprehensive assessment of the installed solar capacity in Texas. While the power generated from grid-tied solar photovoltaic installations can be tracked, an inventory including the capacity of these and other types of solar installations has never been performed. In contrast, installed wind capacity in Texas is closely tracked and widely publicized. Because of this discrepancy, decision=makers have lacked critical information to gauge the appropriateness of solar versus wind power for future installations, complicating their ability to prioritize which renewable power sources to incentivize.