Texas bill requires renewables to subsidize fossil fuels

 The Hill:

The Texas Senate on Wednesday passed a package of bills that would cut support from wind and solar power and force renewable electricity producers to help pay for new fossil fuel power plants.

The five bills are part of a larger campaign by the Republican-controlled body to redirect growth in the states’ flourishing renewable energy sector — by far the largest in the country — toward oil and gas.

The effort seeks to establish the long-term primacy of “dispatchable” electricity — in practice, gas powered plants — over renewables.

The package acts as a counterpoint to the shifting reality of Texas’ energy landscape. While the state is by far the nation’s largest emitter of fossil fuels, new renewable electricity is cheaper and often more attractive than new gas power plants — particularly with the 30 percent renewable energy tax credits passed by Democrats last September. Plus, wind and solar power has been crucial to keeping Texans’ lights on through bouts of record demand, which have been fueled by both rising populations and record temperatures.
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It will be interesting to see if this bill will be approved by the Texas House which has more Democrats in it.  It gives you an idea of how the energy market has changed in Texas.

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