Contact: Cyrus Reed, Sierra Club, 512-740-4086 or 512-477-1729
Tom “Smitty” Smith, Public Citizen, 512-626-4204
Luke Metzger, Environment Texas, 512-743-8257
Senate advancing Clean, Green Power Legislation
Senate Passes Solar Incentive Bill; Senate Committee
Approves Renewable Portfolio Standard, Statewide
Environmental Groups Applaud
Representative Gallego pointed to a recent report by the
State Energy Conservation Office, the ""Texas
Renewable Energy Resource Assessment" which
states that Texas leads the nation in total wind, solar,
biomass and geothermal resources.
(Austin) Clean, green renewable power legislation
advanced in the Texas Senate today.
The Senate approved Senator
Troy Fraser’s
Senate Bill 545, which creates a solar incentive
program for both distributed solar generation and
utility-scale solar, while Senate Business and Commerce
Committee approved Senator Watson’s
Senate Bill 541, which creates a 3,000 megawatt Emerging
Technology Renewable Portfolio Standard.
Among many provisions, SB 545 creates a $100 million
dollar fund administered by the Public Utility Commission
for five years to provide state rebates to Texan
homeowners, businesses and utilities that install
solar power, while SB 541 creates a 3,000 MW goal
by 2020 for solar, geothermal, biomass and other
renewable energy sources.
“What a great present for Earth Day,” said
Environment Texas Director Luke Metzger. “SB
545 will help tens of thousands of Texans install
solar on their rooftops, kick starting a solar industry
in the state that will create good paying green jobs
while helping protect the planet, while SB 541 – if
approved by the whole Senate -- will create new large-scale
sources of power.”
In addition, on SB 545, Senator Fraser accepted
amendments from Senator West to assure that homeowner
associations could not prevent a homeowner from installing
solar on their roof, as well as three separate amendments
from Senator Eddie Lucio to require reporting by
electric cooperatives and municipal utilities on
their solar programs, require the Public Utility
Commission to put basic information about rebates
and prices offered by retail electric providers,
and, perhaps, most importantly, require in the competitive
areas, Retail Electric Providers to pay a minimum
fair market price for any surplus electricity generated
by businesses and homeowners on small and medium-sized
systems.
“With the amendments, Senator Fraser has taken some of the best ideas from his own bill, from Senator Lucio and others and melded them together,” noted Cyrus Reed, Conservation Director of the Lone Star Sierra Club. “This bill – if approved by the House – will finally put Texas on the solar map, and help drive industry, jobs and a new
source of power to Texas, while reducing overall pollution.”
The final version of SB 545 by Fraser creates a
solar generation incentive program administered by
electric utilities for residential, commercial, and
industrial customers and funded by a small charge
on electric bills. Among other provisions, the bill
accomplishes the following:
• Allow investments in utility-scale solar
as well as solar PV panels • Require that certain
municipally owned utilities and electric co-ops also
have solar incentive programs and report on them
by 2012 • Prevent arbitrary prohibition of
solar PV by residential homeowners'
associations and
• Create a pilot revolving loan program for solar
panels on public school buildings • Require that
new subdivisions with more than fifty units offer homeowners
an option to add solar to their new home • Require
that retail electric providers buy back any surplus
electricity at a minimum fair market value.
“Senator Fraser and the Senate today
took a giant stride toward a new clean energy future
for Texas with adoption for SB 545 and passing
SB 541 out of committee,” noted Tom “Smitty” Smith
of Public Citizen’s Texas office. “Now
it’s time for the whole Senate to complete
a Texas two-step and also adopt SB 541 for utility-scale
renewable resources, including solar, geothermal,
energy storage, biomass and small-scale wind.”
Harnessing Geothermal Power in Texas