![]() ![]() Still, Texas’ energy policy is particularly significant given its size. ![]() State lawmakers in coal-rich West Virginia, for example, have already enacted laws this year that aim to prevent coal-fired power plants from closing. The bills exemplify recent efforts in Republican-controlled states to boost fossil fuels at the expense of renewables amid rapid changes to the energy resource mix. “We’ve got billions of investment dollars that we’re hoping to bring to Texas, and that’s at risk if the government is going to be punitive.” “Our member companies have funders who are starting to ask what the hell is happening in Texas,” said Judd Messer, Texas vice president for the Advanced Power Alliance, which represents clean energy companies. Some of the proposed changes could also bring new grid connection and permitting slogs seen in other states that Texas has historically avoided.Ĭlean energy developers say the proposals are already influencing investment decisions in the nation’s second-largest state by population. If Texas grid legislation becomes law, it could cause a shake-up where renewable energy gets built in the south-central United States, Garza said, noting the solar and wind potential of neighboring Oklahoma and New Mexico. Others would target the laissez-faire regulatory environment that has allowed renewable energy to flourish, including by requiring renewable energy projects to pay for backup power or by adding new grid connection fees. The bills include a controversial plan to build a state-backed fleet of natural gas-fueled power plants. Several proposed bills have cleared the Senate, but they could face scrutiny in the state House where lawmakers seem less bullish on upturning the energy market. “If I’m a wind or solar developer, there’s been so much anti-renewable talk or actions contemplated in a wide variety of legislation, why would I come to Texas?” said Beth Garza, a senior fellow at the R Street Institute who previously served as independent market monitor for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state’s main grid operator. ![]()
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