Several bills have been filed for the 88th Legislative Session that aims to incentivize fossil fuels while limiting the growth of renewables in Texas. These anti-renewable bills want to disincentivize and halt the growth of renewable energy while ignoring demand-side response efforts.
Policymakers are failing to focus on concrete and innovative solutions that use distributed energy resources that include solar and batteries; weatherization and energy efficiency; and cutting-edge technologies to reduce costs and increase reliability.
The anti-renewable bills that are on Texas Impact’s radar and the watch of many energy experts in the state are SB 6, SB 7, SB 624, and SB 2014. This is not an exhaustive list of every harmful bill the Committee will consider, but these four bills will have significant impacts on renewables if passed.
Quick Renewable Energy Refresher
Renewable energy is electricity that is solely derived from naturally replenishable generation sources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal. Non-renewable resources such as oil and coal come from finite sources that emit harmful greenhouse gases, hastening climate change.
Having renewable energy in our electricity generation fleet allows the grid to have sustainable and clean forms of energy, which have rapidly grown over the past several years. Renewables have also saved Texas millions of dollars on its energy costs, according to a report conducted by Josh Rhodes of the Webber Energy Group.
Anti-Renewable Bills Texas Impact is Watching
Senate Bill 6, proposed by Senator Schwertner, is Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s $12 billion centerpiece energy legislation. SB6 is a technology-focused bill that aims to increase backup reliability services that are fully paid for by ratepayers. SB 6 would create roughly a dozen new gas fired power plants or roughly 10,000 MWs of energy. Additionally, regardless of the success of these generation facilities, the builders of those gas-powered facilities receive a guaranteed rate of return. This means that despite a power plant’s lack of success, the facilities will still be paid; therefore, “some generators will win, even if ratepayers lose.” The bill also carries a unique 336-hour testing period during which the newly built plants can be tested and earn “net revenue”, thus hindering market competition further.
Senator Schwertner’s SB 7, seeks to “level the playing field” between renewables and dispatchable energy resources (DERs) by increasing funding for DERs. Dispatchable energy resources often refer only to nuclear, coal, and natural gas. Sen. Schwertner claims that renewable energy already receives enough federal tax credits and that SB7 would create those same advantages for dispatchable power, attempting to avoid “market distortions”. According to Doug Lewin, a Texas energy expert, SB 7 would represent a “major break from the way costs are allocated and would be a slippery slope to assigning differing costs to various resources. It’s complicated, an unnecessary distraction, will increase costs, and will have no reliability benefit.”
Senate Bill 624, proposed by Senator Kolkhorst, would now mandate that renewable energy generation facilities, including wind and solar, both new and existing, apply for government permits. Comments from Doug Lewin classify this bill as an “anti-renewable bill masquerading as a conservation bill and would devastate rural economies”. These new requirements are dense and aimed at stalling or completely halting the development of new wind and solar facilities. SB 624 also requires that all individuals within 25 miles of the proposed generation sites be notified of their existence. These requirements do not exist for any other energy resources, again solely targeting and harming renewables. These uneccessary permiting requirements can push away future investors of solar and wind generation from building in Texas.
Senate Bill 2014, proposed by Senator King, would formally terminate competitive renewable energy zones (CREZ), the renewable energy portfolio standards (RPS), and the renewable energy credit (REC) program. This is a complete and direct attack on renewable energy. Texas’ RPS target has been met, but it can and should be increased to continue the growth of renewable energy generation. RECs are an important tool to market and sell renewable energy and have been historically successful. RECs are also voluntary and have helped both consumers and customers track their investments in MWh of renewable energy. Depending on their utility system, customers with solar systems can frequently sell RECs back to grid operators. But, this bill seeks to repeal and scale back incentives for future and current development of renewable energy generation.
What we can do going forward
As Texans, we can take steps to defend our grid and have it backed by renewables, despite the continual presence of anti-renewable legislation. Speak with your local senator or representative about promoting renewables through effective legislation to create a dependable and sustainably powered grid. Renewable energy is the way forward to ensure that Texas has a robust grid, and these proposed anti-renewable bills stand in the way.
And don’t forget the Inflation Reduction Act! We must take full advantage of all residential grants and programs in the IRA to energy retrofit our homes, demonstrating our seriousness about the necessity for pro-renewable legislation. For an IRA refresher, view our issue brief; an IRA webpage is coming soon!