Solar + Batteries Continue Rapid Growth: Texas Grid Roundup #84

Over 11 gigawatts of total generation were added over the last 8 months; ERCOT forward prices are trending higher; Board grants urgent status to the Dispatchable Reliability Reserve Service (DRRS).

In this edition:

• Texas added nearly 10 gigawatts of storage and solar in the last 8 months;

• Forward prices are trending higher in ERCOT; and

• The ERCOT Board gave urgent status to the Dispatchable Reliability Reserve Service (DRRS); the capacity market construct known as “DRRS Plus” will be debated on a longer timeline.

These Grid Roundups, along with the full archives, select episodes of the Energy Capital Podcast including this one on how batteries are reshaping the grid with Fluence VP Suzanne Leta, Reading and Podcast Picks, and more – are for paid subscribers.

Texas added nearly 10 gigawatts of solar and storage in the last 8 months

ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas will tell the Board that Texas added 9,800 megawatts of solar and storage from March 1 through November 1. For the first time, ERCOT included megawatt-hour figures on this slide so we can see almost all of the batteries have 2-hour duration.

Much of the natural gas/diesel category are CenterPoint’s infamous “mobile” generators which couldn’t be used after Hurricane Beryl and have now been repurposed to provide power near a transmission constraint in the San Antonio area.

Growth is expected to continue in 2026 with Texas poised to add ~15-20 gigawatts of new resources, outpacing even the rapid growth of the last five years when the average was ~10-12 gigawatts.