City of El Paso, Texas ranked fourth for state’s total solar capacity
Solar growth is soaring in El Paso, Texas, with more than 20 MW of solar capacity added there in just two years – a fact that spurred the Environment Texas Research & Policy Center to name it fourth among the state’s top solar capacity contenders.
“El Paso continues to build on its commitment to clean energy,” Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas Research & Policy Center, said. “This Earth Week, I’m struck by how far we’ve come toward tapping the immense power of the sun – the last few editions of this report go to show just how much progress we’ve made here in Texas. El Paso’s progress on solar to date has helped secure a cleaner environment, healthier community, and more resilient future.”
El Paso’s gains were charted from the end of 2019 through the end of 2021 in the “Shining Cities: The Top U.S. Cities for Solar Energy” report. With the latest additions, it houses 70.4 MW of total solar capacity. That’s nearly double what the city housed at the end of 2017.
Statewide, its figures were in good company with other Texan cities. San Antonio, for example, ranked fifth in the nation for solar capacity per capita, providing 247.4 solar watts per person. Austin Energy also topped the charts with the most solar per capita for total solar both inside and outside its service territory, boasting 3,119.8 watts per person.
“We are proud of the progress our Sun City has made over the last five years and the way these numbers underscore how committed we all are to our environment and the sustainability of our Region,” Kelly Tomblin, El Paso Electric president and CEO, said. “The technology for solar generation continues to improve, and EPE has plans to further our solar penetration significantly during the next three years. We look forward to taking advantage of our abundant natural resources and placing the Region at the forefront of the changing energy landscape.”
While Texas loomed large in the rankings this year, Honolulu placed first for solar energy capacity per capita. Los Angeles was the top city for total solar energy capacity installed. Overall, going into 2022, the United States had 121.4 GW of solar photovoltaic capacity installed – enough to power more than 23 million homes.
