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to 277 trillion cubic tons, or around 3% of the total reserves in the world (NaturalGas.org, 2008a). Placing a close third behind oil and coal, natural gas is used widely for a variety of applications.

In residential applications, natural gas is used to fuel stoves, ovens, heaters and air conditioners. Commercial uses are very similar to residential uses. Industrial uses of natural gas are primarily wrapped up in processing various commodities such as refining petroleum products, plastics, and in food processing. Natural gas is also a component in making methanol, which has many various industrial uses (NaturalGas.org, 2008b). In comparison to coal and oil, natural gas is relatively the cleanest burning of the nonrenewable resources. Because of the dramatically reduced emissions of natural gas over other fossil fuels, the increased use of natural gas over other fossil fuels can help mitigate some environmental issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, smog, and even transportation-generated pollution (NaturalGas.org, 2008c).

Renewable Energy Sources

Renewable energy sources include solar, hydroelectric, wind, and geothermal energy. These renewable energy sources generally produce little to no pollution in comparison to nonrenewable fossil fuel sources. As nonrenewable energy costs continue to rise and local demand for power increase, some states are turning to alternative renewable energy sources for their energy needs. This has proven to been the case in Texas, where the state seeks to harness energy to supplement their dwindling energy reserve problems with wind energy.

With energy reserve margins for the state estimated to drop below the acceptable 12.5% margin as early as 2009, Texas is looking to the windy west side of the state for a solution. In 1999, the state set a goal to begin to harness the potential 100,000 MW of potential wind generation available in western Texas in order to achieve a goal of producing 2,000 MW of power to add to its power grid by 2009. By 2006, Texas became the top generator of wind energy in the United States, passing California for the lead. By 2007, Texas had more than doubled its goal, producing 4,200 MW of wind energy with another 2,600 MW scheduled to join the grid soon. Texas has extended its goals for the production of wind generated energy to reach 5,880 MW by 2010 and 10,000 MW by 2025. While this will not come close to powering the entire state, it is a beginning of diversification in energy options in an effort to

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