This obvious yet astute observation from Sen. Bob Bennett, the ranking member of the U.S. Senate’s Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, is just one of the reasons why Texas should not continue to push for wind and other renewable alternatives in the face of excessive costs and public subsidies.
At a recent hearing of the Texas Senate’s Business and Commerce Committee, the question of whether wind gets too much emphasis was asked. The answer is yes.
As the Foundation points out, the three major wind energy subsidies will total about $2.24 billion annually when wind generation has reached the state’s 2025 target of 10,000 MW of installed capacity.
That is not to say that other renewables are the answer either. Solar and biomass are even less efficient than wind. Rather than expand the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard to increase subsidies, we should eliminate it and save Texas consumers as much as $1 billion through 2025.
Basing Texas’ energy policy on carbon content and unreliable energy sources is not sound policy. We should instead rely on physics and free markets- both of which spell doomsday for renewables.
– Ryan Brannan