Every single month, clean energy saves Texans almost $1 billion.
That eye-popping figure, the headline from a study released last month by the Texas Consumer Association, doesn’t even count all of the additional resources that are about to come online across the state due to recent federal infrastructure and climate legislation. Nor does it include the wealth of solar, wind and storage projects that are queuing up to plug into Texas’ grid.
It does, however, represent a powerful data point — landing in the midst of the Public Utility Commission’s effort to redesign Texas’ electricity market and on the eve of next year’s legislative session, where lawmakers will take up the same issue.
It underscores the essential and fast-growing role that clean energy plays in helping to keep Texans’ lights on and to lower electricity bills. As they chart Texas’ energy future, legislators need to remember the massive value that renewable energy is creating for Texans.
More than anything, the findings offer the latest spotlight on the importance of Texas’ clean energy resources and leadership.
Texans rightly take pride being the nation’s energy leader — this 11-figure number is what leadership looks like.
Too many state leaders, in and out of the legislature, seem anxious to undercut clean energy in ways that would weaken the industry and raise Texans’ electric bills. But with savings already piling up at a rate of nearly $1 billion a month, families and businesses would be far better off if the state doubled down on its already massive clean energy investment.
The study was authored by Joshua Rhodes, chief technology officer of IdeaSmiths (an Austin energy analysis firm) and a research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. It showed that solar and wind power alone reduced wholesale energy costs by $7.4 billion between January and August this year.
Since 2010, the cumulative savings have been nearly $28 billion.
Those savings accelerated in 2022, as natural gas and coal prices spiked and Texas added more wind and solar capacity. They’ll likely rise even faster in the future, as federal infrastructure and climate legislation catalyze more growth in Texas’ clean energy industry.
Congress’ transformational actions over the last year and a half represent a catalytic moment for Texas. Clean energy has been growing quickly for decades — the new federal investment will supercharge that growth.
The federal investment should spur more transmission lines out to West Texas and the coast, encouraging even more clean energy development in the parts of the state where the sun shines brightest and the wind blows hardest.
It also creates and extends tax credits for clean energy production and manufacturing, and it helps homeowners slash bills by capturing solar power on their roofs and storing it in wall-size home batteries. That cuts energy costs and protects homeowners from extreme weather, such as 2021’s deadly winter blackouts or this summer’s extreme heat that strained Texas’ power grid.
Already, Texas is the nation’s leader in wind power production. We’re second, and coming up fast, in solar production. And we’re an epicenter for the growing field of energy storage.
That leadership matters.
It saves money, it helps save the planet, and it positions Texas really, really well for the growth that’s about to happen.
Our state and local leaders need to embrace both the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the benefits they provide.
By taking advantage of these federal investments and drawing down as much money as we can, Texas will extend its energy leadership — and Texans will benefit from it.
Colin Leyden is state director of Environmental Defense Fund – Texas.
