If the Southern States have not all yet recovered economically from the Civil War, Texas has become one of the most attractive in the United States. In addition to agriculture, everyone knows that a large part of Texas’ wealth comes from energy, gas and oil: both those that are extracted from its soil, but also the processing of those that come from the platforms of the Gulf of Mexico. “In Texas, everything is big” and, thus, the green energy business is taking on an unforeseen scale in the land of black gold! The State is already the leader in the production of renewable energy, and there are, for example, 150 wind farms (1). But in the Time Magazine report of May 22, the potential annual investment in transition energies is estimated at $250 billion for the Houston area alone.
Renewable energies are not yet completely well considered everywhere in the USA, victims of ideological polarization on the theme of global warming. “If you are for renewables, it is because you are against oil”. And, as oil is an economic god here… It is therefore easier to carry out studies for the extraction of fossil fuels than for the creation of green energies. But in recent years Texas received a real economic shock quick to change everyone’s mind when – partly because of its wealth – oil became a source of income…. negative. Indeed, contrary to what was predicted and announced in the 20th century, there was “too much oil” on the planet, and it happened that the selling price of a barrel was consequently lower than its production cost on the territory. American: oil has sometimes caused Texas (and elsewhere in the USA) to lose money, and in any case it no longer provided the expected income.
What no one can take away from this state is its concentration of engineers specializing in energy, and this is also why its “green” evolution is certainly inevitable. In recent months, President Biden’s “Inflation Reduction Currently” (IRA) has also been an accelerator since it included sections on renewable energies, many of which claim to have seen a real economic effect on companies in the energy transition sector. in Texas. Houston startups alone received $1.95 billion in venture capital in 2022, and of that sum, energy-related startups raised almost as much as the next three industries combined (according to data from Greater Houston Partnership).
The economic developments in Texas are paralleled by a demographic boom. With 30 million inhabitants, Texas is the 2nd most populous state after California, from which it takes many residents and businesses fleeing taxes, the cost of living, and more recently for some more restrictive policies. measures against Covid-19 (Texas having been very libertarian on the subject). Before that, the state gained 4 to 5 million inhabitants per decade (while California, for example, lost 350,000 inhabitants between 2020 and 2022).
Black and/or green… it seems that Texas is a state of the future!
1 – Let’s hope they don’t spoil the landscapes as much as some wind farms in France (editorial note from the editor).
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2023-05-30 07:00:00
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