One thing a lot of people ignore is that as you add solar, wind, and natural gas to the grid, it really affects the dynamics of the utilities' baseload capacity especially if weather or other factors threaten any or all of them then. Those are more commonly fossil and nuclear, and have higher capital and operating and maintenance costs. I still stick largely by my two cowboys with a lot of money, a big jet engine, and a generator on the gas generating electric power - think Enron operating on the cheap. As you add those three elements to the grid it really squeezes utilities to maintain and continue operation of coal and nuclear plants. Generally natural gas has been reliable and comparatively cheap because of simplicity in operation - why Enron was involved in the first place - a couple of cowboys and a lot of money. Starting up or throttling a gas turbine is a much simpler operation than fossil and certainly easier than a nuclear plant. So as you add gas, wind, and solar to the mix and in a capacity that digs into coal and nuclear baseload then you are talking about idling plants with very expensive operating costs - you absolutely don't start fossil and nuclear plants by flipping a switch, and an idled plant not producing because the utility has to absorb what solar and wind operators are adding to the grid is a costly proposition. On the chart when the blue and yellow swamp the fossil and nuclear you are putting your electric power in the hands of amateurs running for fun and profits over serious utility businesses.
Since TX has an abundance of gas, the lower fuel and operating costs make it very attractive. Do as little as possible and pump out electrons for profit works works for suppliers who amount to amateur utilities that might even cut and run if NG prices climb. Somebody brought up earlier, do you prepare for the isolated (every hundred or even ten year event) or do you play the odds. Texans have a choice to make on that. On the other hand when the Chinese turn off our "smart" grid someday, Texans may be the ones enjoying the other side of the "logical" game. My choice is dedicated, regulated utilities generating, managing, and distributing the power input to the grid - just makes sense from a logistical and resource management standpoint. I disagree completely with one big interconnected power grid - preferring smaller regional grids perhaps with "unsmart interconnects".
