Renewable Energy Potential & Incentives
The time for a shift from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy is here. This shift can mean a brighter future for Texas, the state with the highest potential for renewable energy of any state in the United States.
Texas and Houston stand to prosper if this renewable energy resource is developed in a timely and effective manner. The renewable energy industry is projected to have tremendous growth over the next 10 years. For example the amount invested in wind power is expected to leap from about 12 billion dollars in 2005 to almost 49 billion in 2015. Solar is expect to have about the same boost in development.
Texas leads the country in renewable energy potential. There’s wind in the panhandle, lots of sun in the southwest and biomass in the east.
One of the drawbacks to renewable energy has been how to distribute wind energy from its source where it is needed. Senate Bill 20 calls for Texas to expand its development of renewable energy and includes support for transmission. Another incentive for investing in renewable energy is in the 2005 Energy Policy Act, which extends through 2007 the production tax credit for electricity generated with wind turbines over the first 10 years of a projects operation. The City of Houston is considering taking advantage of this tax credit by building wind farms in the gulf coast area where wind is more abundant than on land and closer to large population centers.
Let your state and local representatives know that you want them to support development of renewable energy and energy conservation to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.