Reflecting back on 2024, it has been a busy year full of change, promise and fun at TXSES. Our fearless leader, Patrice “Pete” Parsons, has her hands in so many amazing projects at once, that our heads spin and it’s hard to understand how she does it all. From staffing changes, to events and conferences, policy work with our Business Members, and projects, projects, projects, we have done it all this year.
Jane Pulaski, our fantastic Director of Communications since 2020, retired from TXSES in April. Before leaving, she brought on Tamara Kowalski to carry the torch. Marketing & Outreach Coordinator Steven Ugalde left as well as long-time TXSES Research Associate Ethan Miller, who finished graduate school at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT Austin last Spring and now works as a legislative director in the Texas House of Representatives. Data Research Analyst and Technical Advisor intern Mohammad Alkhatib now works as a Tech Analyst with our partner organization, TEPRI (Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute. In September, we were thrilled to bring on current intern & research analyst, Elle Nicholson, a sophomore at UT Austin majoring in philosophy, with plans to pursue a career in international environmental law.
The TXSES Board of Directors also brought on John Hall of HARC (Houston Advanced Research Center) for a special one-year appointment, and Alison Silverstein, who replaced outgoing member Karl Rabago at the end of this three-year term.
Activities
In November, TXSES was a Local Event Partner for the inaugural Texas Intersolar & Energy Storage North America (IESNA) Regional Conference. Executive Director Patrice “Pete” Parsons opened the event and moderated several panels.
Patrice “Pete” Parsons also spoke at and/or moderated other conferences, including the Texas Clean Energy Summit in San Antonio in September. Steven Ugalde and Tamara Kowalski represented TXSES at RE+ Texas in Houston in May.
In July, TXSES was honored with a “TXSES Day at the Race” on July 15th at the 28th Annual Solar Car Challenge at the Texas Motor Speedway, in Ft. Worth. Patrice “Pete” Parsons welcomed the crowd and waved the start flag to begin the day’s races.
We are proud to be a part of the Texas Solar for All Coalition, which was awarded nearly $250 million in grant funding on Earth Day to deliver residential solar to more than 46,000 low-income and disadvantaged communities and households across Texas. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant will accelerate investment in clean energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, close the solar equity gap, and create green jobs.
In addition, we have been working with our TXSES Business Member steering committees, legislators in the Texas Legislature, the Public Utilities Commissions of Texas (PUC), and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) to tackle issues associated with:
- Costly permitting delays for solar installations;
- Protecting consumers from unethical solar sales companies;
- Getting homeowners paid their true value of solar, based on our Value of Residential Solar in Texas study released this year (see “TXSES Study Finds Solar Owners Shortchanged by 78% of their Worth” and “New Value of Solar Study: Rooftop Solar Cuts Costs for the Texas Grid”); and
- Reducing regulatory requirements and fees for homeowners currently lumped in with large solar installations.
Highlights of Our Accomplishments in 2024
- Commissioned the Value of Residential Solar in Texas study, released in July with the Texans for Local Energy Freedom Coalition, to determine the actual amount of money utilities should be reimbursing rooftop solar owners to offset the cost of solar they are feeding back into the grid.
- Solar policy education and outreach to elected officials and the Public Utility Commission of Texas, including developing suggested language for new PUC rules on interconnection issues (see On the Horizon: Streamlined Regulation for Small-Scale Solar), as well as on fair market rates for solar customers based on our Value of Residential Solar in Texas study.
- Prepared for the upcoming legislative session by creating several state-wide stakeholder steering committees to determine next steps for:
- Protecting consumers from unethical solar salespeople (potentially by licensing through TDLR and possible new legislation) and from consumer loan obligations for incorrectly installed systems; and
- Streamlining municipal solar permitting processes by proposing additional language to bills already submitted that would require municipal use of the SolarApp+ platform or similar.
- Continued planning for Austin pilot project, “New Pathways for Equitable Rooftop Solar in Texas,” which will install 10 small (3 kilowatt) solar electric systems for income-qualified homeowners in Austin; in partnership with Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute, Frontier Energy; supported by Austin Energy through a mix of grant and rebate program funding.
- Provided solar installation training for underserved high school students and low-income or hard-to-employ adults in Dallas, Houston and Austin, to prepare them for careers in clean energy; in partnership with Green Careers Texas and with funding from the Texas State Energy Conservation Office.
- Working to bring a solar array to the Community First! Village in Austin, in order to provide free electricity to more than 370 formerly unhoused neighbors, in cooperation with Austin Energy.