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| Fig. 1: Natural gas combined-cycle plant in Texas. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
Texas operates the largest collection of wind turbines in the United States and also maintains one of the most extensive natural gas generation fleets. Both systems supply large quantities of electricity to the ERCOT grid. This report presents a clear comparison of annual electricity generation from wind and natural gas in Texas during 2023. The objective is to show how the two fleets performed within a single year using stable, non-volatile sources. As illustrated in Fig. 1, natural gas combined-cycle plants form a substantial part of the ERCOT generation fleet and provide the dispatchable capacity that anchors system reliability. [1]
All numerical values in this section are taken from the EIA's Electric Power Monthly (EPM). The EPM provides fixed, citable tables of annual net electricity generation by fuel type for each state. In 2023, Texas generated substantial quantities of electricity from natural gas, wind, and coal. [2]
According to Table 1.7.B of the EPM, natural gasfired generators in Texas produced approximately 219 TWh of electricity in 2023. [2] This total includes output from both simple-cycle gas turbines and combined-cycle facilities operating throughout the state. Natural gas remains the largest single source of electricity in Texas because it provides dispatchable power and supports system reliability during periods of high demand. [1,2]
Wind generation in Texas totaled approximately 120 TWh in 2023, according to Table 1.14.B of the EPM. [2] This output reflects the performance of more than 37GW of installed wind capacity located primarily in West Texas, the Panhandle, and the Gulf Coast region. These areas provide strong wind resources and support sustained annual production. Despite the size of the wind fleet, its total annual generation remains below that of natural gas because of variability in wind speeds and the lower capacity factors typical of wind turbines. [2]
Texas also generated a substantial amount of electricity from coal in 2023. According to Table 1.4.B of the EPM, coal and lignite plants produced approximately 96 TWh of electricity during the year. Including this value provides a more complete comparison of annual generation from the states major fuel categories. Using the EPM tables for natural gas (219 TWh), wind (120 TWh), and coal (96 TWh), the wind fraction relative to the combined output becomes: [2,3]
| f | = | 120 TWh (wind) 219 TWh (natural gas) + 120 TWh (wind) + 96 TWh (coal) |
≈ | 0.28 |
Thus wind supplied about 28 percent of the electricity produced by the three major sourcesnatural gas, wind, and coalin 2023. This value follows directly from the generation totals reported in the EPM and reflects the typical practical upper limit of wind penetration observed in large power systems without substantial storage capacity. [2,3]
Wind turbines provide a substantial share of Texas electricity and continue to expand the renewable portion of the grid. Their output reduces the amount of fuel that must be burned in natural gas plants. At the same time, natural gas facilities remain the largest single source of electricity in the state and provide the dispatchable capacity on which ERCOT relies during peak-demand periods. [1] The difference in total annual output underscores how Texas depends on both systems to maintain supply: wind contributes a large and growing block of energy each year, while natural gas continues to anchor grid reliability and peak-hour flexibility. Long-term trends reported in the Electric Power Annual 2023show that Texas has consistently ranked as the nation's largest producer of wind energy and one of the largest consumers of natural gas for electricity generation. [3]
Texas produced more electricity from natural gas than from wind in 2023. Based on the generation totals reported in the EIA's Electric Power Monthly, natural gas generation reached about 219 TWh while wind generation reached about 120 TWh. [2] These values highlight the current structure of the ERCOT grid, in which wind provides a major renewable resource but natural gas still supplies the largest portion of total energy and supports system flexibility. Broader trends documented in the Electric Power Annual 2023 suggest that future developments in transmission expansion, storage deployment, and turbine technology will shape how this balance evolves. [2,3]
© Patrick Flanagan. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] "Report on the Capacity, Demand and Reserves (CDR) in the ERCOT Region, 2024 - 2034," Electric Reliability Council of Texas, May 2024.
[2] "Electric Power Monthly 2024," U.S. Energy Information Administration, February 2024.
[3] "Electric Power Annual 2023," U.S. Energy Information Administration, October 2024.
