Some state legislators in Texas are declaring "mission accomplished" and moving to freeze the state's Renewable Energy Credit program.
Texas is home to almost 20 percent of the country's total wind energy capacity, and, according to some, "Texas has become the undisputed king of wind energy."
"With so much success, state politicians are asking whether it’s time for Texas to end its support for the renewable power industry," reports James Osborne. That support comes in the form of the Renewable Energy program run by the state's Public Utility Commission:
"What began as a goal of 2,000 megawatts of renewable energy in 1999 was eventually increased to 10,000 megawatts, to be met by 2025. But wind boomed far beyond estimates. Texas passed that 2025 goal five years ago and now counts 12,800 megawatts of wind power — at times supplying more than a quarter of the electricity on the grid."
Osborne reports on the state legislation both as an example of the once fledgling renewable energy industry's new power, but also as a reflection of a national trend against renewable portfolio standards. The question of how the renewable energy industry's subsidies stack up against subsidies provided to oil companies is hotly debated.
FULL STORY: As wind power booms, Texas lawmakers consider yanking support
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Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research