13-04-2025
Texas leads the way in wind, solar. An 'industry killer' bill could change that
Private property rights and pro-business principles are under siege while government overreach looms in Texas — and, ironically, it's at the hands of a small group of conservative lawmakers.
Senate Bill 819 targets wind and solar energy development with a subjective, arbitrary review process, additional costs, and setbacks that can be changed at the stroke of a pen. The bill hands the Public Utility Commission of Texas the power to dictate what private landowners can do with their property, eroding both landowner rights and free enterprise.
If passed, SB 819 will drive investment — in both renewables and the energy-intensive industries that fuel the 'Texas Miracle' — elsewhere, raise electricity costs and increase the risk of power outages. Worse, it sets a dangerous precedent for centralized control in a state known for its pro-business, limited-government approach.
For a few so-called conservatives to weaponize the state against landowners hosting renewable energy projects is a stunning reversal of sacred Texas values such as limited government and individual liberty. Considering the fact that Gov. Greg Abbott has called private property rights 'a cornerstone of our values and our legal system,' how did we get here?
At the turn of the century, Republican leaders welcomed renewables, allowing Texans to harness the state's affordable, God-given resources. The results speak for themselves: Texas leads the nation in renewable energy, installing nearly 80% more wind, solar and battery capacity than any other state; renewables produced about one-third of the power consumed in Texas last year; and ratepayers are estimated to save about $1 billion per month in wholesale electricity prices.
Recently, Abbott championed Texas as number one in both wind and utility-scale solar power generation capacity, 'cement[ing] Texas as the energy capital of the world.' These projects inject billions into local communities — an estimated $20.2 billion benefiting over 75% of counties, and landowner lease payments estimated at $29.5 billion. This impact is especially profound in rural Texas, where such projects are often the only opportunity for large-scale capital investment.
For nearly three decades, renewables have helped economies and landowners thrive. Somewhere along the way, however, energy became politicized. Instead of embracing Texas' signature 'bigger is better' mentality, some have sought to dismantle renewable energy success for partisan gain.
This misguided effort to undo energy progress comes at the worst possible time. In a presentation released April 7, ERCOT updated its load growth projections, estimating that demand for power will nearly double by 2030. Fortunately, Texas' diverse generation mix of solar, wind and battery storage — all of which have reached record grid contributions this year — and plentiful natural gas can help.
SB 819 now awaits a Senate vote and echoes a similar bill from 2023, dubbed an 'industry killer.' Lawmakers would do well to reject this dangerous proposal again. Passage of SB 819 would effectively end the development of new renewable energy projects in Texas.
For large commercial or industrial power consumers utilizing long-term, fixed-price contracts, it would mean operating costs would skyrocket, and additional investments under consideration would fall by the wayside.
The biggest losers? Texans. By stifling the development of renewables, SB 819 would bring higher electricity prices, more power shortages, lost economic development and a blow to the most sacred right in Texas: private property rights.
And what's next? Will we empower Austin bureaucrats to determine if Texans can raise cattle, grow crops, hunt or drill for oil? No one knows the land better than its owner, and when landowners lose the right to decide their land's future, they are no longer truly landowners.
Texas stands on the edge of government overreach. If we allow politicians to target one industry and strip one group of its rights, every Texan should fear for their own. Texans cannot afford — nor should they tolerate — this betrayal of our core values.
Judd Messer is the Texas vice president of Advanced Power Alliance, an industry trade association promoting the development of wind, solar and energy storage resources.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Property rights under attack with bill stifling renewables | Opinion
