Texas bill aims for tighter renewable energy restrictions

While renewable energy is soaring in the Lone Star State, a bill is before the Texas Senate that may hamper the state’s clean energy development.

SB 819 would place additional fees, permitting restrictions and regulatory requirements on utility-scale renewable energy projects in Texas.

The bill was discussed on the Business and Commerce Committee last week, along with testimony from school board members, teachers and business professionals who oppose the bill. Landowners both in favor and against the bill gave testimony. Overall, the bill received a high level of community engagement with 103 witnesses registering against the bill, and 19 witnesses registering in favor.

The bill is “heavily, heavily, heavily lobbied,” the bill’s author, Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) said during the meeting. Eight additional Republican senators and one Democrat senator have signed onto the bill.

SB 819 requires:

renewable energy projects with at least 10 MW of capacity to obtain a permit from the Texas Utilities Commission to interconnect with transmission facilities;
notice of applications and a public meeting on new wind and solar projects over 10 MW;
permit applicants to submit environmental impact reviews conducted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and disclose the facility details; and
all permitted facility equipment for solar projects be at least 100 feet from property lines and 200 feet from habitable structures unless it obtains a written waiver from the property owner.

The bill also establishes an annual environmental impact fee for permit holders, which must be deposited into a dedicated fund to support cleanup efforts and other regulatory activities.

The proposed bill prohibits taxing authorities from entering agreements that grant property tax abatements to renewable energy projects with at least 10 MW of capacity.

“This bill will kill renewable energy in Texas,” Jeff Clark, CEO of Texas Power Alliance, said during the testimony.

Michael Looney, the vice president of Economic Development for the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce testified that San Angelo’s economy and school district has greatly benefitted from the renewable projects in the county. Additionally, Looney said the presence of its local solar and wind power projects served to attract new manufacturers and data centers in the area.

“Interestingly,” Looney noted, “with such a high percentage of our economic horsepower derived from the [oil and gas] sector, we’ve been involved with solar projects that were in actual collaboration between the solar developers and [oil and gas] companies, which we found intriguing because we’d always assumed there was opposition between the two different sectors.”

Last week, Environment Texas, the Audubon Society and nine other conservation groups wrote a letter to Sen. Kolkhorst, saying the bill “would impose discriminatory and crippling new siting standards on Texas’ renewable energy projects.”

The letter says the bill unfairly imposes “stifling” and “capricious” requirements on renewable energy projects that fossil fuel projects aren’t subject to. The bill could “slam the brakes on the development and economic gains of clean renewable energy,” the letter said, “while failing to address the vast pollution and land use problems associated with the extraction, transportation, refining, and use of fossil fuels.”

Another bill in Texas, which recently passed the state’s Senate, requires at least half of new power generation come from dispatchable sources other than battery energy storage systems.

The bills represent 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.

“We cannot afford to pick and choose favorites,” Daniel Giese, the Texas state director for Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), told pv magazine USA. “Rather than add red tape to energy generation, Texas leaders must protect the pro-energy and pro-business state policies that made Texas the energy capital.”

In December, Texas Gov. Abbott 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.”

Giese echoed the governor and said, “With people and energy-hungry industries flocking to Texas, we need an all-of-the-above strategy to meet demand, and solar and storage are the quickest resources able to be deployed to the grid.”

Rep. Rafael Anchia spoke in a webinar March 17 about how SB 819 could significantly hinder Texas’ clean energy progress due to its discriminatory permit requirements, elimination of tax incentives, inequitable setback requirements and the discriminatory fees and reviews it creates. “Climate change no longer passes the eye test,” he said. “The stakes could not be higher for the average Texan.”

“Instead of slamming on the brakes for clean energy we should be working towards a balanced energy portfolio that includes natural gas, renewables and battery storage,” Anchia said, “because it’s going to take that ‘all-of-the-above’ approach to meet the energy demands of the future.”

The bill was left pending in committee March 27.

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