The Texas Renewable Energy Resource Assessment Protect

Renewable energy sources represent a significant potential for meeting long-term energy demand. In any given area, a logical first step in determining this potential is to assess native renewable resources regarding their size, location and usefulness. The State of Texas recently completed an effort that comprehensively reviews information covering the full range of renewable energy resources in Texas, including solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, water, and building climatology energy resources. For each resource, the assessment includes a survey of available information, an overview of the resource, and recommendations identifying future assessment needs. This paper reviews the overall project and identifies seven documents that were produced. While the project is focused on Texas, it also contains information that is pertinent to other states, such as the best maps currently available for each renewable energy resource in the contiguous United States.