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Spotlight

All Eyes Are On Texas as Anti-Renewables Bills Advance

Plus, what a Texas energy veteran thinks is behind the surprising turn against solar and wind.

Texas statehouse.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

I couldn’t have a single conversation with a developer this week without talking about Texas.

In case you’re unaware, the Texas Senate two days ago passed legislation — SB 819 — that would require all solar and wind projects over 10 megawatts to receive a certification from the state Public Utilities Commission — a process fossil fuel generation doesn’t have to go through. The bill, which one renewables group CEO testified would “kill” the industry in Texas, was approved by the legislature’s GOP majority despite a large number of landowners and ranchers testifying against the bill, an ongoing solar and wind boom in the state, and a need to quickly provide energy to Texas’ growing number of data centers and battery manufacturing facilities.

But that’s not all: On the same day, the Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee approved a bill — SB 715 — that would target solar and wind by requiring generation facilities to be able to produce power whenever called upon by grid operators or otherwise pay a fine. Critics of the bill, which as written does not differentiate between new and existing facilities, say it could constrain the growth of Texas’ energy grid, not to mention impose penalties on solar and wind facilities that lack sufficient energy storage on site.

Renewable energy trades are in freak-out mode, mobilizing to try and scuttlebutt bills that could stifle what otherwise would be a perfect state for the sector. As we’ve previously explained, a big reason why Texas is so good for development is because, despite its ruby red nature, there is scant regulation letting towns or counties get in the way of energy development generally.

Seeking to best understand why anti-renewables bills are sailing through the Lone Star State, I phoned Doug Lewin, a Texas energy sector veteran, on the morning of the votes in the Texas Senate. Lewin said he believes that unlike other circumstances we’ve written about, like Oklahoma and Arizona, there really isn’t a groundswell of Texans against renewable energy development. This aligns with our data in Heatmap Pro, which shows 76% of counties being more welcoming than average to a utility-scale wind or solar farm. This is seen even in the author of the 24/7 power bill – state Senator Kevin Sparks – who represents the city of Midland, which is in a county that Heatmap Pro modeling indicates has a low risk of opposition. The Midland area is home to several wind and solar projects; German renewables giant RWE last month announced it would expand into the county to power oil and gas extraction with renewables.

But Lewin told me there’s another factor: He believes the legislation is largely motivated by legislators’ conservative voters suffering from a “misinformation” and “algorithm” problem. It’s their information diets, he believes, which are producing fears about the environmental impacts of developing renewable energy.

“He’s actively working against the interests of his district,” Lewin said of Sparks. “It’s algorithms. I don’t know what folks think is going on. People are just getting a lot of bad information.”

One prominent example came from a hailstorm during Hurricane Uri last year. Ice rocks described like golfballs rained down upon south-east Texas, striking, among other things, a utility-scale solar farm called Fighting Jays overseen by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. The incident went viral on Facebook and was seized upon by large conservative advocacy organizations including the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

What’s next? Honestly, the only thing standing between these bills and becoming law is a sliver of hope in the renewables world that the millions of dollars flowing into Texas House members’ districts via project investments and tax benefits outweigh the conservative cultural animus against their product. But if the past is prologue, things aren’t looking great.

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Spotlight

The Trump Administration Is Now Delaying Renewable Projects It Thinks Are Ugly

The Army Corps of Engineers is out to protect “the beauty of the Nation’s natural landscape.”

Donald Trump, wetlands, and renewable energy.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

A new Trump administration policy is indefinitely delaying necessary water permits for solar and wind projects across the country, including those located entirely on private land.

The Army Corps of Engineers published a brief notice to its website in September stating that Adam Telle, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, had directed the agency to consider whether it should weigh a project’s “energy density” – as in the ratio of acres used for a project compared to its power generation capacity – when issuing permits and approvals. The notice ended on a vague note, stating that the Corps would also consider whether the projects “denigrate the aesthetics of America’s natural landscape.”

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Hotspots

A Data Center Dies in Wisconsin

Plus more of the week’s biggest renewable energy fights.

The United States.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Dane County, Wisconsin – The QTS data center project we’ve been tracking closely is now dead, after town staff in the host community of DeForest declared its plans “unfeasible.”

  • As I previously explained to Fight readers, this QTS project was a quintessential data center conflict. Not only was it situated in a blue county inside of a purple state, but a recent imbroglio over emails between the village mayor and QTS have made it a key example of how private conversations between tech companies and local governments can tarnish the odds of getting a data center permitted.
  • Late Tuesday, DeForest town staff issued a public statement disclosing they would recommend rejecting QTS’ petition to annex land for construction, without which the developer can’t build. A vote on whether to formally deny the petition was scheduled for February 3.
  • If the town rejects the project, the statement reads, DeForest staff expect QTS to “formally withdraw” its request for changes to land zoning plans and the annexation application. The town also cited vociferous opposition to the project, declaring: “The Village of DeForest appreciates the dedicated engagement of our community. Engagement is at the core of democracy. Reviewing public information, participating in public meetings, and discussing potential opportunities and impacts are all important civic activities.”
  • I was prepared to wait and see what happened at the public meeting before declaring this project dead in the water, but QTS itself has gone and done it : “Through our engagement, it has become clear that now is not the right time for our proposed project to move forward in DeForest.”

Marathon County, Wisconsin – Elsewhere in Wisconsin, this county just voted to lobby the state’s association of counties to fight for more local control over renewable energy development.

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Q&A

How Data Centers Became an Election Issue in Georgia

A conversation with Georgia Conservation Voters’ Connie Di Cicco.

The Q&A subject.
Heatmap Illustration

This week’s conversation is with Connie Di Cicco, legislative director for Georgia Conservation Voters. I reached out to Connie because I wanted to best understand last November’s Public Service Commission elections which, as I explained at the time, focused almost exclusively on data center development. I’ve been hearing from some of you that you want to hear more about how and why opposition to these projects has become so entrenched so quickly. Connie argues it’s because data centers are a multi-hit combo of issues at the top of voters’ minds right now.

The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.

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