Will Texas Turn Against New Energy?

Battle Over Renewable Energy Takes Shape At The Texas Capitol

Mose Buchele, April 2, 2019 (KUT Radio)

“Wind power in Texas is often seen as one of the state’s great success stories. It’s grown so much in the last 20 years that the state now leads the country in the amount of electricity it generates from wind. Experts say that’s brought the price of electricity down and helped reduce air pollution…But wind is facing a lot of opposition this year at the Texas Capitol… [With local, state, and federal incentives supporting development and new transmission to connect windy West Texas] to urban centers like Dallas and Houston,] Texas began to break wind-production records…[But opponents argue wind power is disrupting the grid, and lawmakers have been hearing proposals this session to draw back or cut some of the incentives. Supporters say the push against renewable energy comes from] the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an influential conservative think tank…[TPPF] produced a series of studies arguing wind…[is] responsible for the tight electricity supply in Texas…[because it] depresses investment in fossil fuel plants…[M]ost energy experts disagree…

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[They say fossil fuels also get incentives but it is renewables that lower consumers electricity costs…[They don’t argue] that wind and solar are needed to fight global warming because the argument doesn’t win any points at the Capitol…[TPPF is] dismissive of climate science…[There is evidence TPPF] takes money from oil companies, then works to advance the industries' interests at the Texas Capitol…As dominant as Texas wind power has become, experts say] Texas could go nearly full renewable and still reliably keep the lights on if it built out wind and solar in the right parts of the state…” click here for more

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