Dr. Brent Bennett from the Texas Public Policy Foundation testifies in support of SB 383, which would ensure proper consideration of offshore wind energy’s unique tradeoffs. While Texas has managed offshore oil and gas for over a century, offshore wind presents new challenges including blade failures and impacts on commercial fishing.
The bill would require the PUC to evaluate not just transmission lines but also the wind facilities they would serve. Dr. Bennett emphasizes that Texas has already invested over $130 billion in renewable energy, and redirecting just a quarter of that toward reliability could have prevented the February 2021 power crisis.