Texas Overtakes California as Top US Solar Power Producer

Texas passed California this year to become the country's largest producer of electricity from photovoltaic farms, according to the BBC. The state's grid operator has leaned on the technology to meet surging demand from a fast-growing population, even as Texas remains the top oil-producing state in the country, the BBC reported.

What Made Texas the Country's Top Producer?

Two factors explain the shift, says Mark Stover, executive director of the Texas Solar and Storage Association. Panels are cheap and fast to connect to the state's grid, which operates separately from the rest of the US power system. At the same time, Texas needs more electricity, fast. "We need a whole lot of power in Texas, and we need it quickly," Stover told the BBC.

James Scott, vice president of project development at OCI Energy, said years of incremental manufacturing gains have pushed panel costs down to the point where the technology is now the cheapest way to generate power in the state. "No one would have believed that 20 years ago," Scott said.

How Much Power Comes From Panels on Peak Days?

On hot afternoons, when demand peaks, panel-generated electricity now supplies roughly a third of the power used across Texas, Stover said. In March 2025, the state produced more electricity from photovoltaic farms than from coal for the first time, according to the US Energy Information Administration, as cited by the BBC.

What Is a Landowner Earning From Leasing to an Energy Project?

Steve Cargil, 67, farms land near Uvalde that his family has worked since 1953. After a 2018 hailstorm wiped out a season's crops, Cargil leased 600 acres — about a quarter of his property — to OCI Energy. The company built a large power project on the site. The deal now pays him $200,000 a year, letting him concentrate his irrigation allowance on the acreage he still farms. "It's changed my life," Cargil said.

What's Driving Texas's Growing Appetite for Power?

Population growth is the main driver. Texas's population increased 15.8% between 2015 and 2025, one of the fastest rates of any state, according to figures cited by the BBC. That growth, combined with the low cost of new generation capacity, has pushed utilities and developers toward rapid buildout across the state's flat, sun-exposed farmland.

By the Numbers

• 33% — approximate share of Texas electricity supplied by photovoltaic farms on peak summer afternoons, per the Texas Solar and Storage Association
• 15.8% — Texas population growth, 2015–2025
• $200,000 — annual lease payment Steve Cargil receives from OCI Energy for 600 leased acres
• March 2025 — the month panel-generated power first exceeded coal generation in Texas, per the EIA

What to Watch

• Whether Texas's separate grid, operated by ERCOT, continues approving new connections at its current pace
• Additional landowner lease deals in rural counties as developers seek more acreage
• Monthly EIA generation data to see if the coal-power gap widens further
• Population growth trends that continue to push statewide electricity demand higher