2023 Solar Car Challege Revs Up!
DYK the Solar Car Challenge, THE annual high school solar car race, is less than 3 weeks away! This year’s event, the 30th, is hosted by Oncor and Lockheed Martin. Starting on July 16 in Fort Worth, the nearly 1,400-mile race ends on July 23 in Palmdale, California. Of the 23 teams registered for this […]
Solar APP+ software: just the thing to reduce solar installation costs
Texas’ solar industry is in overdrive, and it’s not just because of the extreme weather.
National Interconnection Report: how did Texas score?
The latest state results from Freeing the Grid, the highly-regarded report from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) is in. Sadly, but perhaps not surprisingly, Texas scores a ‘D’ for its interconnection policies and processes On the brighter side, this means there’s lots of room for improvement Read the full report.
SEIA’s New Consumer Education Resources Ready for Incoming Solar Customers
SEIA Press ReleaseJune 1, 2023 WASHINGTON D.C. — Today the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is releasing a suite of new and updated resources for consumers to meet the increase in demand for solar power created by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). With the IRA’s incentives in place and energy bills weighing on family budgets, consumers […]
The 88th legislature: it’s a wrap!
By Ethan MillerTXSES Intern With the gaveling of Sine Die on May 29 for the 88th Texas Legislative Session, Texas successfully avoided the passage of catastrophic anti-renewable bills like SB 7 and SB 624. However, several bills, including those that would further subsidize the already taxpayer-laden fossil fuel industry have made their way to Governor […]
Texas renewables live to fight another day
We breathe a sigh of relief that the 88th regular legislative session is over. By all accounts, this session featured a legislature run amok in obstinate animosity to adapt and evolve.
Legislation Update
We’ve been following three solar-related bills this session. For the most current information about any legislation, visit LegiScan. HB 3010 by Rep. Zwiener (D-45) requiring municipal/county governments to use SolarApp+ (or another online program with similar capabilities) to streamline the solar permitting process. Never had a hearing in State Affairs Committee. HB 4455 by Rep. […]
Houses of worship go solar
TXSES and Environment America hosted a panel discussion about houses of worship going solar.
Wind and solar energy saved Texans $11 billion in 2022
A detailed examination of the Texas wholesale electricity market showed wind and solar power generation saved the state approximately $11 billion in 2022. The report, led by Dr. Joshua Rhodes and produced by Ideasmiths, projects that expanding wind and solar capacity could save Texans between $6.1 billion and $15.2 billion per year. This figure marks […]
Connecting to the Texas grid
By Patrice ‘Pete’ Parsons, TXSES Executive Director On May 4, 2023, I attended the Public Utility Commission’s (PUCT) distributed energy resources (DER) workshop Docket 54233 as it considers updating DER interconnection standards and DER technical standards. The goal of the workshop was to get feedback from interested parties like TXSES, other non-profits and utilities. Currently, […]