Heavy reliance on intermittent generation is why the Texas grid is facing reliability problems today.

Yet rather than deal with the problem of renewables by eliminating renewable subsidies, Texas politicians are just throwing our money at the market.

(Originally published in the Daily Signal - July 18, 2022)

Texans might be forgiven for thinking they have it better than the Brits when it comes to keeping the lights on. After all, they live in the energy capital of the world. However, the destructive nature of renewable energy like that used in Great Britain knows no borders, especially when American politicians push subsidies and mandates to force us off fossil fuels, threatening not just Texas but the entire U.S. electric grid.

(Originally published in the Houston Chronicle - February 25, 2022)

Texans all across the political spectrum sent them a clear message that it is wrong for Texas school districts to give multi-million property tax breaks to big business while average Texans’ property tax bills are skyrocketing.

(Originally published in the Texas Business Daily - February 22, 2022)

Texans sent a clear message to members of the Legislature that it was wrong for Texas school districts to give multi-million property tax breaks to big business while average Texans’ property tax bills are skyrocketing.

(Originally published in the Austin Journal - October 19, 2021)

Ockham’s razor tells us that the simplest explanation for the cause of the blackouts is that the only resource that can never be counted on to reliably generate electricity—renewable energy—ought to be the top focus.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. Instead, the preferred solution seems to be making sure that Texans pay even more of their hard-earned money to fill the coffers of the major corporations, cities, and other special interests who own, operate, and supply the Texas electric grid.

(Originally published in the Houston Daily - October 19, 2021)

Human nature often leads us to believe we will not be harmed by events in faraway places. However, when it comes to the proposed $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill in our nation’s capital, Texans should not succumb to this fallacy. If passed, the bill will adversely affect our state for years to come.

(Originally published in the Austin Journal - August 14, 2021)

In the aftermath of February’s Great Texas Blackout, there has been much consternation and confusion. The lack of clarity has been evident in the proclamations and actions from politicians, regulators, and the energy industry.

Renewable energy participants will continue to receive over $2 billion a year in federal, state, and local subsidies. Traditional and renewable generators will continue to get paid billions through the PUC’s manipulation of market prices, be it through ancillary services, price adders, or a capacity market.

The billions that taxpayers and consumers are paying the industry is being couched in the language of reliability. But market manipulation and subsidies never increase reliability; just ask your average Californian or New Yorker.

(Originally published in the Dallas Express - July 14, 2021)

During the last 20 years that Texas has been promoting competition, it has also been promoting anti-competitive subsidies for generators. Particularly for renewable energy.

The cost of all these subsidies to taxpayers and consumers is tremendous and the cost to Texans will keep growing if Texas politicians continue their push for a capacity market. We estimate that a capacity market will cost Texans $4 billion to $8 billion per year. That would be on top of the $2 billion or so per year we are already paying for renewable subsidies.

(Originally published in the Houston Daily - May 24, 2021)

Despite years of increasing reliance on intermittent generation sources like wind and solar, Texas policymakers seem to have been caught by surprise by the blackouts experienced by millions of Texans this winter.

They should not have been. While temperatures dropped into the single digits for extended periods over much of Texas, solar and wind generators were largely no shows on the Texas grid. While other factors were in play, it was renewables that led Texas into darkness.

(Originally published on Master Resource, February 18, 2021)

“No, frozen wind turbines are not mainly to blame for the massive power outages in Texas. But renewable energy subsidies are.”

“The greatest danger that Texans now face is the political establishment’s continued unwillingness to challenge the renewable-energy lobby. If that happens, the result will be more of the same: increased cost of electricity and decreased reliability of the electric grid.

Federal and State Subsidies = Artificial Boom. Wind has dominated Texas’ renewable energy landscape for the last 20 years. However, solar is making a concerted effort to catch up. Utility-scale solar capacity almost doubled in 2020. But, favorable press releases are one thing. The loss to real-world homeowners, consumers, and state appropriators in this substitution of dilute, intermittent generation is quite another.

(Originally published in The Lone Star Standard, December 9, 2020.)

In 2019, wind and solar farms operating in Texas took in almost $6 billion in subsidies and benefits from local, state, and federal governments. All of that came out of the pockets of average everyday Americans—mostly Texans…

(Originally published in the Lone Star Standard August 28, 2020.)

Truth be told, it is the “innovation” of wind energy that is largely responsible for California’s blackouts. Since Texas is even more innovative when it comes to wind energy, today’s problems with California’s electric grid could be a glimpse into Texas’ future.

(Originally published in The Dallas Morning News, July 20, 2020.)

With the arrival of July, Texans know to be ready for 100-plus degree weather for the next couple of months as widespread extreme heat is expected this summer. It might surprise them, though, to know that the prices they pay for electricity might rise even faster than the summer heat…