Wind is generally considered the front-runner when it comes to renewable sources of energy — both cheaper and more reliable than solar. The government certainly prioritized it last year when it doled out millions in grants, mostly to wind firms. Now news of record-setting wind generation out of Texas confirms that turbines are probably the best bet.

Apparently, early this morning, about 19 percent of the power on the major Texan grid came from wind installations (about 6,272 megawatts) — that’s an incredible amount considering that green-minded states like California are hoping to hit 33 percent from renewable power in general ten years from now. This is also significant given that not all of Texas’ turbines participated — the state’s Panhandle is actually on a different grid.

On a regular basis, Texas derives about 6 percent of its electricity on the grid from wind, reports the New York Times. That’s not very much for a state that is far and away the leader in wind development. Interestingly, however, not all of the wind power generated in Texas is actually transmitted. The necessary infrastructure doesn’t yet exist to deliver it all to consumers. So who knows what could be achieved if this missing link were fixed?

Not that the problem has been neglected. The state is already investing $5 billion in transmission repairs and expansions. The goal is to string many more cables between the wind-heavy western region of Texas and the biggest cities, Houston, Austin and Dallas.

If Texas can successfully (and affordably) build the necessary infrastructure to up the amount of wind-generated power on the grid, it could provide a great best-practice case for states looking to boost their own wind power, like California, Michigan, and other states in the Midwest.