Jody Serrano
Editor in chiefEditor in Chief at Xataka On. Before joining Webedia, I was a tech reporter at Gizmodo and The Messenger. While I've covered all sorts of things related to technology, I'm specialized in writing about social media, Internet culture, Twitch, and streamers.
When it comes to solar power plants, one of the biggest factors to consider is the sun. Once the sun goes down, these plants don’t produce power because the source is not available.
However, a new bill in Texas would require renewable energy companies, including those that rely on solar and wind, to produce the same amount of energy at night as they do during the day or during times when there’s no wind.
SB 715. Last week, Texas state senators passed SB 715, a bill that would require nearly all the state’s solar and wind companies to buy backup power from natural gas or coal plants. Besides acquiring power from fossil fuels, renewable energy companies would also have the option of buying batteries to ensure their output.
According to the bill, renewable energy companies that don’t have backup power available would be forced to pay a big fine or close their doors altogether.
SB 715 and its companion in the Texas House, HB 3356, have alarmed renewable energy companies in the state, the Houston Chronicle reported. Some say that the requirements would make it too expensive to operate in Texas and limit the growth of the renewable energy industry.
A bid to “level the playing field.” Proponents of the bills say their goal is to “level the playing field” between renewables and fossil fuels. For instance, State Rep. Jared Patterson—one of the authors of HB 3356, the companion bill to SB 715—claims the renewable energy industry is “highly subsidized.”
“Do Texans deserve to have power when they need it? Yes, of course they do. But it can't happen if we rely too heavily on resources that are on and off with the whims of Mother Nature,” Patterson said at a committee meeting last month.
Notably, requiring renewable energy companies to have a back-up when their supply goes down isn’t new. It’s already a law, but only for companies that connect to the Texas energy grid after 2027. The back-up requirements in SB 715 and HB 3356 don’t apply to natural gas and coal-based power plants.
Higher electricity bills. Critics of SB 715 say that customers could end up paying the price, literally. They say that renewables help stabilize the Texas energy grid, which is under increased strain due to surging energy needs in the state.
In a recent report, Aurora Energy Research found that restricting the expansion of renewable energy prices in Texas would lead to a 14% increase in wholesale power prices by 2035. For the average consumer, this would lead to a 10% increase, or $225 per year, in their electricity bills.
Meanwhile, the total cost to the energy system as a whole would increase by $5.2 billion, Aurora noted. The report was commissioned by the Texas Association of Business.
No one-size-fits all solution. In the end, energy experts say that both renewables and fossil fuels have a role to play in Texas’ energy supply. Neither is infallible.
“Characterizing renewables as a problem, I don't think it’s helpful to the conversation. I don't think it's accurate. What we really need is a portfolio that can actually deliver on the resource requirements ahead of us,” Pablo Vegas, the CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, the organization that operates the state’s grid, said recently.
The future of SB 715 will be determined by the Texas House, which will now take up the companion bill, HB 3356.
Image | American Public Power Association
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