Author Topic: Subsidies for renewables under attack in Texas  (Read 1289 times)

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Offline Elderberry

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Subsidies for renewables under attack in Texas
« on: April 30, 2019, 12:31:23 pm »
Houston Chronicle by  L.M. Sixel April 25, 2019

Renewable energy has prospered in Texas over the years, supported by federal subsidies that have helped to make the state the biggest producer of wind power in the nation and lowered electricity prices for Texas household and businesses.

But now Texas lawmakers are examining ways to undermine that support and strip away what fossil-fuel interests have long decried as unfair advantages for wind and solar industries. The state Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would require state regulators to determine how to eliminate the financial advantages created by federal subsidies through measures such as new fees on renewable generators or higher rates for traditional generators — moves that would likely raise retail electricity prices.

A similar measure was approved earlier this month by the House committee on State Affairs.

The goal of the legislation’s proponents is to slow the development of the wind and solar generation that is taking increasingly bigger shares of the Texas power market, according to Joshua Rhodes, research associate at the University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Institute. Wind energy today generates nearly 20 percent of the state’s electricity.

“Our market is designed to reward low cost generation,” said Rhodes. “The idea is to tax wind and solar at the state level to counteract the federal subsidies.”

The legislation is another front in a broader fight launched by fossil fuel interests as wind, solar and other green technologies have become formidable competitors, slicing into the profits of traditional coal, nuclear and natural gas generators. Federal subsidies and other incentives, such as property tax breaks, that were designed to help what were once emerging technologies compete are coming under attack nationwide.

More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Subsidies-for-renewables-under-attack-in-Texas-13795289.php

Offline IsailedawayfromFR

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Re: Subsidies for renewables under attack in Texas
« Reply #1 on: April 30, 2019, 01:08:58 pm »
Houston Chronicle by  L.M. Sixel April 25, 2019

Renewable energy has prospered in Texas over the years, supported by federal subsidies that have helped to make the state the biggest producer of wind power in the nation and lowered electricity prices for Texas household and businesses.

But now Texas lawmakers are examining ways to undermine that support and strip away what fossil-fuel interests have long decried as unfair advantages for wind and solar industries. The state Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would require state regulators to determine how to eliminate the financial advantages created by federal subsidies through measures such as new fees on renewable generators or higher rates for traditional generators — moves that would likely raise retail electricity prices.

A similar measure was approved earlier this month by the House committee on State Affairs.

The goal of the legislation’s proponents is to slow the development of the wind and solar generation that is taking increasingly bigger shares of the Texas power market, according to Joshua Rhodes, research associate at the University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Institute. Wind energy today generates nearly 20 percent of the state’s electricity.

“Our market is designed to reward low cost generation,” said Rhodes. “The idea is to tax wind and solar at the state level to counteract the federal subsidies.”

The legislation is another front in a broader fight launched by fossil fuel interests as wind, solar and other green technologies have become formidable competitors, slicing into the profits of traditional coal, nuclear and natural gas generators. Federal subsidies and other incentives, such as property tax breaks, that were designed to help what were once emerging technologies compete are coming under attack nationwide.

More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Subsidies-for-renewables-under-attack-in-Texas-13795289.php
I question whether that is a true statement.

Wind power does not lower electricity prices.  Get on http://powertochoose.org/  and compare plans with an without significant renewable generation.

Those with less are lower per kwhr prices.
No punishment, in my opinion, is too great, for the man who can build his greatness upon his country's ruin~  George Washington

Offline Elderberry

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Re: Subsidies for renewables under attack in Texas
« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2019, 01:40:52 pm »
I question whether that is a true statement.

Wind power does not lower electricity prices.  Get on http://powertochoose.org/  and compare plans with an without significant renewable generation.

Those with less are lower per kwhr prices.

When you select a plan on powertochoose you are only selecting a middleman, a marketer. For example, no matter which plan I choose, my power is supplied by Centerpoint.

All subsidies for renewables need to be stopped. Let them compete on a level playing field.

Quote
https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2018/08/23/report-confirms-wind-technology-advancements-continue-to-drive-down-wind-energy-prices/

Report Confirms Wind Technology Advancements Continue to Drive Down Wind Energy Prices
Key findings indicate wind energy prices at all-time lows as wind turbines grow larger
News Release Julie Chao (510) 486-6491 • August 23, 2018

Wind energy pricing remains attractive, according to an annual report released by the U.S. Department of Energy and prepared by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). At an average of around 2 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), prices offered by newly built wind projects in the United States are being driven lower by technology advancements and cost reductions.

“Wind energy prices ­– ­particularly in the central United States, and supported by federal tax incentives – remain at all-time lows, with utilities and corporate buyers selecting wind as a low-cost option,” said Berkeley Lab Senior Scientist Ryan Wiser of the Electricity Markets & Policy Group.

Key findings from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Technologies Market Report include:

    Wind power capacity additions continued at a rapid pace in 2017. Nationwide, wind power capacity additions equaled 7,017 megawatts (MW) in 2017, with $11 billion invested in new plants. Wind power constituted 25 percent of all U.S. generation capacity additions in 2017. Wind energy contributed 6.3 percent of the nation’s electricity supply, more than 10 percent of total electricity generation in 14 states, and more than 30 percent in four of those states (Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, and South Dakota).

Bigger turbines are enhancing wind project performance. The average generating capacity of newly installed wind turbines in the United States in 2017 was 2.32 MW, up 8 percent from the previous year and 224 percent since 1998-1999. The average rotor diameter in 2017 was 113 meters, a 4 percent increase over the previous year and a 135 percent boost over 1998-1999, while the average hub height in 2017 was 86 meters, up 4 percent from the previous year and 54 percent since 1998-1999. Permit applications to the Federal Aviation Administration suggest that still-taller turbines are on the way. Increased rotor diameters, in particular, have begun to dramatically increase wind project capacity factors. The average 2017 capacity factor among projects built from 2014 through 2016 was 42 percent, compared to an average of 31.5 percent among projects built from 2004 to 2011, and 23.5 percent among projects built from 1998 to 2001.

Low wind turbine pricing continues to push down installed project costs. Wind turbine equipment prices have fallen to $750-$950/kilowatt (kW), and these declines are pushing down project-level costs. The average installed cost of wind projects in 2017 was $1,610/kW, down $795/kW from the peak in 2009 and 2010.

Wind energy prices remain low. Lower installed project costs, along with improvements in capacity factors, are enabling aggressive wind power pricing. After topping out at 7 cents per kWh in 2009, the average levelized long-term price from wind power sales agreements has dropped to around 2 cents per kWh – though this nationwide average is dominated by projects that hail from the lowest-priced region, in the central United States. Recently signed wind energy contracts compare favorably to projections of the fuel costs of gas-fired generation. These low prices have spurred demand for wind energy from both traditional electric utilities and nonutility purchasers, such as corporations, universities, and municipalities.

Offline IsailedawayfromFR

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Re: Subsidies for renewables under attack in Texas
« Reply #3 on: April 30, 2019, 02:23:25 pm »
When you select a plan on powertochoose you are only selecting a middleman, a marketer. For example, no matter which plan I choose, my power is supplied by Centerpoint.

All subsidies for renewables need to be stopped. Let them compete on a level playing field.
I agree completely.

And I always seek out power plans that contain the least amount of power supplied by renewables.  It saves me money.
No punishment, in my opinion, is too great, for the man who can build his greatness upon his country's ruin~  George Washington

Offline thackney

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Re: Subsidies for renewables under attack in Texas
« Reply #4 on: April 30, 2019, 02:27:14 pm »
When you select a plan on powertochoose you are only selecting a middleman, a marketer. For example, no matter which plan I choose, my power is supplied by Centerpoint....

You can buy from a generator like TXU or Reliant.  The middleman plans are buying power and hoping they don't get caught buying too much power on the spot market and going broke.  Which has happened, leading customers to find another.
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Offline Elderberry

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Re: Subsidies for renewables under attack in Texas
« Reply #5 on: April 30, 2019, 02:42:33 pm »
I agree completely.

And I always seek out power plans that contain the least amount of power supplied by renewables.  It saves me money.

What I did the last couple of times was I'd take my monthly usages from the prior year and plug it into Excel. Then for each plan I was interested in, I'd take their billing formulas from their "EFL" and run them against each month of usage. I don't even look at where they say the power comes from.

Offline Restored

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Re: Subsidies for renewables under attack in Texas
« Reply #6 on: April 30, 2019, 02:51:12 pm »
Then : "We need create a subsidy to encourage as many people as possible to use renewable energy"
Now: "Too many people are using renewable energy. We need to get rid of the subsidy"
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Offline IsailedawayfromFR

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Re: Subsidies for renewables under attack in Texas
« Reply #7 on: May 05, 2019, 02:14:09 pm »
I question whether that is a true statement.

Wind power does not lower electricity prices.  Get on http://powertochoose.org/  and compare plans with an without significant renewable generation.

Those with less are lower per kwhr prices.
solar doesn't lower prices either

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/05/the_
No punishment, in my opinion, is too great, for the man who can build his greatness upon his country's ruin~  George Washington