Texas already leads the country in wind power, thanks to the windy west Texas plains, according to the EPA. Many in Texas now believe that Texas could also lead in solar.

“We actually are a perfect environment, economically and thermodynamically, as a raw resource for solar, but it hasn’t taken off,” said Michael E. Webber, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas to the Dallas Morning News.

The PUC’s solar program would be based on the existing renewable portfolio standards, a requirement dating to 1999 for electric companies to include sources such as wind, solar and other renewable sources in their energy mixes.

Texas’ renewable energy standards, among the most aggressive in the country, have been so successful that electric companies met the 2009 goal by 2005. The Legislature responded in 2005 by setting more ambitious targets for 2015 and 2025.

Nearly all of Texas’ growth in renewable energy has been in wind power, which increased fourfold over 10 years. Other renewable power sources remained afterthoughts.

Solar power was especially held back by its cost, technological challenges and lack of transmission lines from sun-rich West Texas to energy-hungry cities.

Legislators recognized the lag with a 2005 mandate that Texas energy include at least 500 megawatts of new power from sources other than wind by 2015. The state also took steps to provide more electric transmission lines.

Interestingly, the DOE announced a new study which was carried out by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and AWS Truewind, finds that the contiguous 48 states have the potential to generate up to 37 million gigawatt hours annually. By contrast, total U.S. electricity generation from all sources was roughly 4 million gigawatt hours in 2009. Texas was estimated to be able to contribute 6.5 million gigawatts of that amount or 17.5%.

Here are the wind potential estimates for the contiguous 48:

In a similar note, I just noticed that TXU Energy, a Texas retail electric provider, is instituting a program to help 400 homeowners lease their rooftop solar. Very interesting.