For a long time, Texas was known to be a leader in the non-renewable energy fields… in particular, the petroleum market. But it looks like the Lone Star State is now poised to dominate the green fuel picture as well.
This story in the Houston Chronicle says Texas will lead the nation in renewable energy production by 2025, and could gain $22.8 billion in economic activity each year and more than 170,000 jobs overall:
The state’s energy production, which would supply about 4 percent of the U.S. needs in 2025, would come from biofuels, wind and solar power. Texas already leads the nation in wind energy production.
Texas’ projections come from a two-year study by the University of Tennessee Department of Agricultural Economics. The report, which looked at the 48 contiguous states, was commissioned by the National 25x’25 Alliance, a group working toward having 25 percent of the country’s energy come from renewable sources by 2025.
If the report’s estimates pan out, the economic impact nationwide in 2025 will be $700 billion annually and create 5.1 million jobs, mostly in rural areas.
Ironically, Texas Governor Rick Perry and the state legislature are, so far, are unwilling to sign on to that national “25 by 25” effort.