Austin News

Bill Peacock, Energy Alliance's policy director, says any big investment in Texas renewable energy is doing more harm than good.

Author Robert Bryce recently wrote an article reporting that almost $66 billion has been spent building wind and solar infrastructure in Texas, but Peacock says these investments have been to the detriment of the Texas power grid.

"Most of the time, (when) you hear about an industry investing a lot of money in your state, it is good news," Peacock told Austin News. "But that is not the case when it comes to the renewable energy industry investing $66 billion in Texas. The main result of this investment is that Texans suffered one of the most catastrophic blackouts in recent U.S. history."

Bryce notes that much of the harm caused by renewables in Texas is excused by supporters because they are “expected to make up only a fraction” of what the state needs during the winter. 

"These excuses merely underscore the essence of the problem: If wind and solar can provide so little power during times of peak demand – and especially during moments when the electric grid is on the verge of collapse – why are we spending so much money on it?" he writes.

"Renewable generators are in the process of driving reliable energy generators out of business in Texas," Peacock told Austin News. "Subsidies allow renewable generators to undercut the prices of their traditional competitors like natural gas, coal and nuclear-powered generators. Because of this, when wind and solar generators failed during the [February] blackouts there was not enough reliable generation available to keep the lights on."

To come up with his estimate of $66 billion in renewable energy investment in Texas, Bryce cites PoweringTexas.com when he says $53.1 billion has been invested in wind generation through 2019. He adds to that total another $3.1 billion for 2020. To complete his calculations, he includes an estimate from the Solar Energy Industries Association that "solar spending in Texas totaled $9.7 billion through the end of 2020." Peacock says that despite these large investments, there is virtually no benefit to the average Texan.

"Not only do renewable generators not produce much reliable electricity, but they don't produce many jobs, either," Peacock told Austin News. "Typically there are usually two or three permanent jobs associated with a new wind or solar farm. Yet school district and county officials are usually willing to give up millions of dollars in property tax abatements for a couple of jobs because they get a temporary increase in revenue to spend on pet projects."

According to Peacock, the Texas Legislature and the federal government are complicit in the state's overinvestment of renewables in the state. The renewables industry has received approximately $24 billion, over one-third of its investments back, in state and federal subsidies, giving it a tremendous advantage over its competitors. 

Peacock added that the Texas Legislature should change its approach to renewable energy.

SB 1278, introduced by Sen. Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills), will require renewable energy generators to pay for the cost of acquiring electricity from other sources when they fail to produce electricity for the grid. 

Peacock also voiced support for SB 1255, offered by Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Waco), which would eliminate the ability of local governments to offer property tax abatements to wind and solar generators.