Some Texas GOP lawmakers turning away from wind and solar

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Solar panels in the foreground, with a wind turbine in the background, against a blue sky with a few clouds.

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(Texas News Service)
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Texas is a national leader in renewable energy generation, getting more than 30% of its power from wind and solar.

For decades, the Republican Party has generally supported an “all of the above” approach to energy production. But recently, some GOP lawmakers have introduced legislation considered anti-wind or anti-solar.

Josiah Neeley, senior fellow at the think tank the R Street Institute, said some people see clean energy as a threat to the oil and gas industry.

“Natural gas is the largest portion of our fuel used for electricity, and we use it for all sorts of other stuff,” Neeley explained. “Wind especially and increasingly solar, as they emerge onto the grid as real competitors, some people don’t like that.”

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Some conservative lawmakers argue wind and solar are not reliable during Texas’ extreme weather. Several bills targeting renewable energy were proposed during last year’s legislative session.

Neeley believes more restrictions will be proposed when lawmakers meet again next year.

Energy experts said as Texas’ population grows, all sources of energy are needed to reduce stress on the power grid. Growing manufacturing plants and data centers also require more electricity.

David Jenkins, president of the group Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, called what is happening “energy cancel culture.”

“On the political right, we have people just abandoning ‘all of the above’ to attack an energy source — that has nothing to do with left or right, or red or blue,” Jenkins said. “It’s just energy, and we need to have an attitude that we do what makes sense today, and what makes sense today is we certainly need solar and wind.”

Jenkins argued local and state lawmakers could be taking their cues from the Trump administration, which attempted to slash tax credits for wind and solar projects. Earlier this year, a U.S. judge vacated the policy.

Neeley pointed out in addition to providing the state with another source of energy, wind and solar projects can financially benefit farmers and ranchers who host turbines or solar panels on their land.

“They tell us that this allows them a hedge and a protection for the farms and the ranches, in the same way that being able to have some oil wells on your land provides a little stable source of income,” Neeley added.