By Patrice ‘Pete’ Parsons
TXSES Executive Director
We breathe a collective sigh of relief: the 88th regular legislative session is over. By all accounts, this session featured a legislature run amok in a dedicated animosity to adapt and evolve.
It was a session that promised the most innovative grid resiliency legislation ever when actually it was the session with the most anti-renewable bills ever filed, in blatant tribute to a state relentlessly addicted to fossil fuels. The good news: it could have been worse.
Hardly a day passed during the 140-day session where regional, national and international headlines expressed bewilderment at why Texas would brazenly turn its back on The Texas Miracle, a 15-year booming renewable energy industry, the envy of all states. We’ve been #1 in wind-powered electricity generation, producing nearly 26 percent of US wind energy and 21 percent of state-generated electricity.
In solar, we’re currently ranked #2 nationally with 16 GW on the ground and 36 GW in the queue over the next five years. Texas gets almost 5 percent of its electricity from solar and can boast of a solar workforce of more than 10,000. These are statistics any state would die for.
And yet with unrivaled clean energy business opportunities that have catapulted Texas into the 21st energy century with affordability, access and overwhelming consumer demand for renewables, we’re squandering these enviable opportunities. If anything, consumer demand for distributed solar is likely to set new records as electric rates escalate.
Deep bows to our intrepid solar industry’s tireless efforts to educate legislators about renewables’ immense economic, social and environmental benefits in all parts of the state. Their networked knowledge and fierce spirit are exemplary of why the Texas renewable energy industry is a steward of substance and hope-giving force for the inevitable tomorrow.
We are not dispirited. Fact is, our work is far from over. It’s an honor and privilege to be part of this industry.