Texas Senate passed a bill that would require at least half of new power plant capacity come from dispatchable sources other than battery energy storage systems.
The bill, SB 388, would apply to new generation beginning next year in the ERCOT region. It originally mandated the 50% threshold come from natural gas, but was amended to require “dispatchable generation other than battery energy storage.”
The bill establishes a “dispatchable generation credits trading program,” under which utilities, power generation companies and electric cooperatives would be required to offset new battery and renewable capacity with an equal amount of new dispatchable capacity. Power companies that exclusively operate battery energy storage resources are exempt from the program.
“Battery energy storage is the most flexible resource on our grid — allowing us to quickly deliver affordable power when it’s needed most,” Daniel Giese, the Texas state director for Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), told pv magazine USA. “In fact, energy storage is the fastest-responding dispatchable resource with the ability to discharge power in milliseconds, charging and discharging multiple times a day.”
“If that’s not dispatchable power then I don’t know what is,” Giese said. “The simple fact is Texas needs every resource on the grid to keep prices low for consumers and meet the demands of future population and business growth.”
Giese said Texans will be “far more vulnerable to grid outages” if new generation is limited to a small number of facilities. He added, “Solar and storage are flexible and can be built almost anywhere, creating a critical backstop for the grid.”
Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that “champions the public interest in the halls of power” testified against the bill saying the threshold should be for “dispatchable resources” not “dispatchable generation.” The consumer advocacy group said that while the grid needs dispatchable energy resources, “we are not aware of any study by ERCOT, the or any other entity that had determined that proportion to be optimal, or even an improvement from the status quo.”
“Maintaining a reliable electric grid is a complex technical challenge. Solutions should be well-grounded in analysis of the relevant facts,” Public Citizen said.
The bill poses a power play in a state booming with renewable investments. Excluding California, Texas has more battery storage than the rest of the United States combined, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The majority of Texas residents from both sides of the aisle believe solar paired with battery systems would make the grid more reliable and resilient, a survey by the SEIA, Global Strategy Group and North Star Opinion Research found last year.
Texas’s ample land and low-key regulation environment have made it easier for developers to enter the state’s energy storage market, the Texas comptroller says. Added to this are plunging costs of lithium-ion batteries found by a BloombergNEF analysis and the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax incentives, and energy storage’s position in the free market is bound to boom.
Whether Gov. Abbott will sign off on the bill if it passes the House remains uncertain. In December, the governor hailed the state’s achievements in both oil production, and wind and utility-scale solar generation. He added, “Here in Texas, we believe in an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy approach.”
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.