Will Texas law be used to stop renewable energy?

The Texas legislature wants legislation to prevent the emergence of wind and solar projects, Writes the Financial Times.

At the same time, the largest oil and gas-producing state in the United States is on its way to becoming big in green energy and chasing California to claim the title of largest state.

Now state authorities can put their foot down for visions of more green energy, with a bill providing guarantees that fossil fuels will remain robust as an energy source in the state’s power grid.

– We’ve invested heavily in renewable energy, but now is the time to focus on energy production where we can turn off the power supply, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick tells the Financial Times.

The bill aims to introduce environmental requirements for green energy production, but not other types of power plants. The proposal states that the impact of factors such as interventions in agriculture and wildlife should be assessed. Existing green energy producers must apply for an operating license and environmental permits, the paper writes.

Texans have always been proud to have an open market, not to pick which technologies will win, and to be a country where there isn’t a lot of regulation. In this case, that doesn’t apply as fact, says Becky Deven, a partner at the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright.

The rapid rise of renewable energy has alarmed many Texas Republicans, who argue that the growing share of solar and wind power has created a less reliable power grid and is hurting the oil and gas sector.

Many also blame renewable energy for the catastrophic outages during the Uri winter storm in February 2021, which led to hundreds of deaths and more than $100 billion, equivalent to one billion Norwegian kroner, in economic damage.