For about five hours on January 28, under the scorching heat of the sun, over one-third of the electricity running on Texas’ power grid came from solar power.

The solar spectacle, recorded by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), cranked up production to an impressive 15,222 MW of solar at 10:09 am, reported the KUT News.

Then, at the peak of the day's crescendo, at 3:10 pm, the solar power waltzed in, powering a remarkable 36.1 percent of the electricity demand. The sun continued to contribute around a third of the overall energy demand every hour from 11 am to 4 pm.

According to ERCOT, one megawatt can power 200 homes in times of peak energy use.

Texas grid has the highest solar capacity of all states

In a significant shift last year, Texas dethroned California to become the state with the highest installed solar power capacity on its grid. 

The ERCOT, overseeing 90 percent of the state's grid, reported an impressive 18,364 megawatts of solar power capacity installed as of September 30. 

According to ERCOT data, this capacity is sufficient to power nearly 3.7 million Texas homes during peak electricity demand periods. 

While Texas is making significant strides in solar power, it hasn't overtaken California as the nation's top solar leader just yet. California maintains its lead in total solar installations, largely due to a higher amount of rooftop solar on homes and businesses. 

Data from the Solar Energy Industries Association reveals that California had 41,675 megawatts of all types of solar installed, while Texas had 18,801 megawatts during the same period.

But, Texas does stand at the forefront of the solar power landscape, marking a notable achievement in the nation's renewable energy sector.

Joshua Rhodes, an energy researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, anticipates that the state will continue setting new records in the coming times, as per the KUT News report. 

He attributes this expectation to the ongoing installation of additional solar facilities and the increased intensity of sunlight during the summer months. 

“About five or six years ago, solar became cheaper than wind to deploy, so we started building a lot of that,” said Rhodes. “That's kind of the second wave of renewables that's come onto the grid [after wind].”

While the latest solar grid boost bodes well for Texas, there are certain challenges as well. In 2022, nine percent of solar generation was curtailed by ERCOT due to the lack of high-voltage transmission lines and energy storage. 

Solar energy is weather-dependent and challenging to collect during cloudy or rainy days, night-time, and shorter winter days. Despite recent advancements in battery storage, cost, and limited lifespan remain concerns. 

Solar power plants also require substantial space, with utility-scale plants needing five to 10 acres of land per MW capacity. With even all these aspects in question, solar energy is expected to become a valuable component in the state's energy mix.