Tell the TX Senate: Don’t Stomp Out Renewables and Increase Electricity Costs

Senate Bill 388 at the Texas Legislature could limit investment in wind and solar in favor of methane gas. The bill would set an arbitrary mandate for 50% “dispatchable generation” focusing on fossil fuels. Worse yet, it would discourage development of new clean energy resources.

Investment in wind, solar, and battery storage is booming in Texas, benefitting consumers and providing grid reliability. SB 388 would bring that progress to a halt. It won’t make our grid more reliable, but it could do the opposite. And it will increase energy costs by discouraging development of affordable renewable energy.

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{contact_data~salutation} {contact_data~title} {contact_data~lastName},

I am writing to ask you to stop Senate Bill 388. This bill, relating to the legislature's goals for electric generation capacity in this state, won’t give us a reliable grid. It will increase energy costs and interfere with the free market.

SB 388 would mandate that 50% of new generation in Texas’ ERCOT grid be “dispatchable generation.” Dispatchable has been defined to exclude battery storage and demand-side solutions such as virtual power plants and demand response. This percentage target doesn’t appear to be based on any detailed need analysis and would upend the free market.

If the Legislature wants to establish a dispatchability target, the first step should be for ERCOT to evaluate how much dispatchable resources are needed. Any resulting target should do the following:

1. Set a megawatt target, not a percentage target. A percentage target would limit the development of wind and solar energy based on the amount of new gas generation coming online. Gas generation comes online more slowly and the result would likely be fewer new resources overall - and resulting market price increases and perhaps even reduced reliability.

2. Allow a wide variety of resources to meet the target, not just generation. A resource is “dispatchable” if its energy output is controlled by humans. This means that demand response is dispatchable. Energy storage and virtual power plants are dispatchable. Batteries are also dispatchable.

3. Require load (utilities and retail electric providers) to meet the target, not generators. Load is much better equipped to procure a diverse resource portfolio than generators, which often specialize in a certain resource type.

In conclusion, I ask you to reject SB 388. It’s bad for the energy market and won’t deliver a reliable or affordable grid.

Sincerely,

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name},
{user_data~City}

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