Texas lawmakers propose bills to phase out renewables in a bid to shore up the grid

On Thursday, some Texas senators unveiled plans to shift the focus from wind and solar to resources like natural gas.

It was part of nine bills announced by Texas legislators aimed at bolstering the state’s power grid.

The law’s authors and supporters said it aims to increase power in the state, which can be quickly turned on and off on demand.

But some have concerns that the change in strategy could lead to higher costs for consumers.

“This is the starting point for moving Texas forward,” said State Senator Charles Schwertner.

In the second legislative session after a deadly 2021 winter storm blew confidence in the grid, a group of Republican and Democratic senators announced a second salvo aimed at improving power supply reliability.

“We must ensure the operational flexibility and adequacy of the resources needed to power Texas in the future to ensure that homes are heated and businesses are powered for years and decades to come,” Schwertner added.

A common thread in most of the nine packages of bills announced Thursday was cutting support for renewables like wind and solar while trying to boost resources known as “control room” resources like natural gas.

“We are approaching 50% of our generation portfolio in Texas from renewables and that certainly has cost advantages, but we need to focus on reliability and resiliency,” Schwertner said.

“We don’t want to go the way other states play it safe at the expense of needs that can be shipped,” Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick said.

But some say the shift away from renewables could be negative.

“If you suppress the growth of wind and solar energy, it will have a negative impact on consumers,” explained Michael Jewell.

Jewell worked for then-Governor George W. Bush on energy issues.

He currently works with Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation and represents companies in the solar and wind energy industries.

“If the legislature wants to support the development of new manageable generation resources, focus on it very actively. But there is no need to necessarily go out and punish the investments that have been made in wind and solar generation and the benefits that this brings to the state,” he added.

Legislators promoting the law acknowledge that if passed, it will take time for the grid to see its effects.

Jewell said focusing on current technology could miss out on the benefits of innovation, such as better battery storage for renewable energy.

“If we focus only on creating resources for natural gas production, and not on emerging opportunities, we will impose costs on customers that, frankly, will be staggering,” he explained.

Jewell said it’s a blatant oversight that energy efficiency was not the focus of Thursday’s announcement.

This is the idea that programs aimed at improving the efficiency of homes and businesses will reduce the load on the grid, meaning that the need for increased electricity production of any kind will decrease.

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