Texas, a large state with a wealth of energy resources, leads the nation in energy production. The state provides more than one-fifth of U.S. domestically produced energy.1 Second only to Alaska in total land area, Texas stretches 800 miles at its widest points, east to west and north to south, and crude oil and natural gas fields are present across much of that expanse.2,3 Coal is found in bands that cut across the eastern Texas coastal plain and in other areas in the north-central and southwestern parts of the state.4 Texas also has abundant renewable energy resources and is first in the nation in wind-generated electricity.5,6 With a significant number of sunny days across vast distances, Texas is also among the leading states in solar energy potential.7,8 Geothermal resources suitable for power generation are present in East Texas, and uranium—the fuel for nuclear reactors—has been found in South Texas.9,10 The state has three licensed uranium in-situ recovery plants, but there have been no commercial operations for several years.11,12
Texas has the nation's second-largest population and second-largest economy after California.13,14,15 Texas uses more energy than any other state and accounts for almost one-seventh of the U.S. total consumption. The state is sixth in the nation in per capita energy consumption and is the third-largest net energy supplier despite its high energy use.16,17 The industrial sector, which includes the energy-intensive petroleum refining and chemical manufacturing industries, is the largest energy consuming end-use sector and accounts for half of the state's end-use energy consumption.18,19 Transportation is the second-largest end user, in part because of the large number of registered motor vehicles in Texas, the great distances across the state, and the high number of vehicle miles traveled annually.20,21,22
The Texas climate varies significantly from east to west. Warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico sweeps westward across the state, losing moisture as it goes. The result is a climate that ranges from humid and subtropical along the coast, where much of the state's population resides, to semi-arid on the high plains of central and western Texas, and arid in the state's mountainous west. Frequent freezing temperatures occur in winter in the lightly populated high plains, and summer temperatures average above 90°F in the most densely populated parts of Texas where energy use for cooling is high.23,24,25 Even so, the residential sector accounts for just one-eighth of state end-use energy consumption. Because of the state's large population, Texas leads the nation in state residential energy use, but it ranks near the lowest one-fifth of states in per capita residential energy consumption.26,27
