Transmission Infrastructure and Wind Integration: What Texas's CREZ Project Means for the Incorporation of Renewable Energy

Incorporating renewable resources into our current grid is essential to reach a clean energy, low-carbon future. While states like California and New York get attention for progressive environmental agendas, Texas can act as... [ view full abstract ]

Incorporating renewable resources into our current grid is essential to reach a clean energy, low-carbon future. While states like California and New York get attention for progressive environmental agendas, Texas can act as an important model for renewable energy integration because of its high wind access. If Texas were its own country, it would rank 6^th globally for installed wind energy capacity. Throughout the early 2000s, wind farm production grew rapidly. However, the growth of wind installations created congestion in existing transmission and prompted the question of how to transport energy generated in the rural Panhandle, where wind blows most strongly, to the cities in Eastern Texas, where that energy is consumed. To solve this issue, ERCOT, the grid operator in Texas, invested $7 billion in the Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) transmission infrastructure build up to reduce congestion, maintain reliability and safety, and decrease negative pricing and curtailment events. The project was completed in 2013, and it has proven essential to integrating more wind energy into Texas’s power supply. In my thesis, I examine why the CREZ project was successful in Texas and if its lessons can be applied elsewhere to facilitate renewable energy growth.