Taking on Renewable Energy in the 89th Texas Legislature
Until Texas Politicians are Willing to Go Directly After Renewables, Texans Will Continue to Pay Higher Prices for Less Reliable Electricity
The intermittency of renewables has greatly reduced reliability on the Texas grid. Renewable energy subsidies have magnified the problem by driving reliable thermal generation out of the market. Renewables have also increased prices for business and consumers. Texas politicians have struggled with this, deciding the best way to deal with renewables is to increase subsidies for natural gas and nuclear electric generation. That has not worked; as the chart below shows, all it has done it make electricity more expensive. Texas cannot out-subsidize renewable subsidies from the federal government.
The following legislation goes directly after renewable energy and would be a great start toward restoring reliability and affordability to the Texas electric grid.
SB 383 – Sen. Mayes Middleton. Requires the PUC to not connect offshore wind generation to the grid if certain conditions apply.
SB 714 – Sen. Kevin Sparks. Requires wind generators to pay for the reliability costs they impose on the grid. Could be improved by adding solar generators.
SB 715 – Sen. Kevin Sparks. Requires all renewable generators, not just new plants, to be responsible for the costs of their inability to provide electricity to the grid when needed.
SB 819 – Sen. Lois Kolkhorst. Requires new wind and solar generators to get a permit to connect with the grid to balance private property rights and the need for electric generation
SB 1754 & HB 4057 – Sen. Brian Birdwell and Rep. Ellen Troxclair. Prohibits local property tax abatements for new renewable generation facilities.
HB 1343 – Rep. Ellen Troxclair. Requires battery storage facilities to meet certain siting and fire safety requirements before receiving a permit from the PUC to build the facility.
HB 3017 – Rep. Brent Money. Requires wind and solar generators to pay franchise taxes equivalent to the amount of federal subsidies they received.
HB 3580 – Rep. Don McLaughlin. Prohibits all incentives for new renewable energy generation facilities.
HB 4363 – Rep. Brent Money. Requires battery storage facilities to meet certain fire safety requirements before receiving a permit from the PUC to build the facility.
Until our politicians get a handle on how they have been used by renewable companies and the old adage of "landowner rights trumps all", they will never understand what has happened to our grid, our other landowner rights and the mass subsidization of one product over another. Money does not fix all, neither does patching the system.
My view of landowner rights for what that is worth.... the landowner has the right to lease or do as he will with his land - he just exercised that right when he leased to a renewables company. They took his air rights, his surface rights and his mineral rights - he just signed over all his rights to that property, especially with solar. He no longer has any rights as far as the companies are concerned. So now the legislators are ONLY dealing with the companies for regulation the landowner is no longer in the picture. Regulating a company is different from regulating a landowner. Agree or disagree - let me know..
I love all these bills. Sadly, our latest Congress has passed 0 bills, or even brought forth any for discussion. But hey, they honored Bionce. 🙄 These are not serious people.