Legislation that would “kill renewable energy in Texas” failed to progress in the state’s House of Representatives.
Three “anti-solar” bills, SB 819, SB 388 and SB 715, appear dead after failing to meet the state’s deadlines that would otherwise allow them to progress.
SB 819 would have placed additional fees, permitting restrictions, mandated setback and regulatory requirements on utility-scale solar and wind projects in Texas, which the state does not impose on other forms of energy. Despite the army of opposition the bill received while in committee, with more than 100 groups registering against the bill, the legislation passed the Senate 22-9 in April. Legislators did not take any action on SB 819 after it was engrossed and moved to the Texas House of Representatives.
“With people and energy-hungry industries flocking to Texas, we need an all-of-the-above strategy to meet demand, and solar and storage are the quickest resources able to be deployed to the grid,” Daniel Giese, the Texas state director for Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), told pv magazine USA.
SB 388 would have required at least half of all new generation in the ERCOT region come from “dispatchable generation other than energy storage.” The bill originally mandated the 50% threshold come from natural gas, but was amended to dispatchable generation “other than battery energy storage.”
Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, said that while the grid needs dispatchable energy resources, “we are not aware of any study by ERCOT, or any other entity that had determined that proportion to be optimal, or even an improvement from the status quo.”
Giese said Texas would be far more vulnerable to grid outages if new generation were limited to a small number of facilities. “The simple fact is Texas needs every resource on the grid to keep prices low for consumers and meet the demands of future population and business growth.”
Excluding California, Texas has more battery storage than the rest of the United States combined, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Additionally, the majority of Texas residents from both sides of the aisle believe solar paired with battery systems would make the grid more reliable and resilient, a survey by the SEIA, Global Strategy Group and North Star Opinion Research found last year.
Texas’s ample land and relatively hands-off regulatory environment have made it easier for developers to enter the state’s energy storage market, the Texas comptroller says. Added to this are plunging costs of lithium-ion batteries found by a BloombergNEF analysis and the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax incentives, and energy storage’s position in the free market is bound to boom.
SB 715 aimed to establish a retroactive mandate that existing renewable energy installations install a backup energy source.
The legislation “would reduce reliability of the Texas power grid while increasing electricity costs for consumers, if enacted,” said Aurora Energy Research stated in a report.
The three bills missed Saturday’s deadline for legislation passed in the Senate to clear a committee vote in the House of Representatives. Additionally, today is the last day for the Texas House to consider all bills on their second and third reading.
“The failure of these three bills is a victory for ratepayers,” said Adrian Shelley, the director of Public Citizen’s Texas office. “It is also a tacit recognition by a legislature that is too friendly to fossil fuels that renewable energy sources are an indispensable part of powering the state,” he said.
Shelley said signing the bills into law would have meant higher energy prices and slowed the growth of energy sources that keep the Texas electric grid stable. He added, “When lawmakers return for their next session, the attacks on renewables must end in favor of legislation that will slow or reduce the state’s fast-rising demand for electricity.”
The anti-solar legislation came just as Texas began to take its place as one of the top states for installed solar capacity, which, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), is ranked first in the country for its utility-scale solar capacity. Nearly 12,500 Texans are employed and more than $50 billion is invested in the state’s solar industry, according to SEIA.
Texas passed other legislation this session to require the recycling of retired solar and wind projects, unless Gov. Abbott vetoes the bill.
Texas’s legislative session operates in odd years, so its legislators will reconvene for the next session in 2027.
Read about other solar-related bills state lawmakers are debating this legislative session here.
