​Commentary on Proposition 7 (SJR 93)

In November, we'll be voting on this proposed amendment to the Texas Constitution:
 

• Providing for the creation of the Texas energy fund to support the construction, maintenance, modernization, and operation of electric generating facilities.

 
If approved by Texas voters, this amendment will provide billions of dollars in low-interest loans to support the development of new methane gas power plants. Essentially, this amendment authorizes the use of taxpayer money to subsidize new gas power plants.
 
We've had weeks of triple digit weather in Bexar County this month. Climate change is real. Texas is an oil and gas energy powerhouse, but it's also on the leading edge of renewable energy. On any given day, Texas gets 7% of its electricity from solar and 31% from wind power. So should Texans subsidize gas power plants? 

It makes all the sense in the world to continue to invest in renewable energy.  President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022.  It is the largest climate change bill that has ever been passed.  It’s a massive injection of money to move the United States away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy.  But don’t just take my word for it, click HERE to watch Steven Rattner explain what has already transpired because of the IRA.  It’s a must-see 6-minute video.

And in the Washington Post (June 24, 2023), there is this insight on the Texas grid…”State officials are increasingly turning to an unexpected technology:  giant batteries.
These systems, which can quickly spew stored electrons onto the grid when power plants sputter, played a crucial role in avoiding outages over the past week, as scorching temperatures shattered records across Texas.  And they are renewing debate about the role of clean energy in stabilizing the Texas grid, as the batteries are ideal for harnessing wind and solar energy.

But amid this heat emergency, batteries have also proved useful in bailing out more traditional power plants.
When a large coal facility got knocked offline during peak hours this week amid the stress of the extreme heat, energy that was being stored in batteries elsewhere in Texas was quickly dispatched to carry the grid through the evening. The batteries were also crucial to keeping the power on when a nuclear plant hiccuped and went offline earlier in the week.
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The power grid quickly becomes vulnerable to outages when a plant is unexpectedly knocked offline.  The batteries, much like small, fast-reacting gas generators, are able to backstop that electricity immediately.  That kind of backup power was not available in Texas in 2021.”

In an unprecedented heatwave, battery storage is providing the dispatchable energy we need when power plants falter.  This is happening in real-time.  Conversely, the Texas legislature’s answer is to build methane gas power plants to provide dispatchable energy as a back up.  
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So, should Texans subsidize the building of gas power plants that could cost up to $18 billion in taxpayer money?  No, the private sector has already given us a clean-energy answer, and it’s working.  Instead of adding fuel to the climate crisis, we should leverage President Biden’s IRA, and expand the use of battery storage.  Vote no on this amendment.

Michelle LoweSolis
State Democratic Executive Committee Member (SD25)

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Click HERE to view all the proposed Amendments to the Texas Constitution for the November 2023 Ballot.

Other Ready to Vote Information:​

• Submit an application to vote by mail if you are eligible.
• Obtain an acceptable ID for voting.  If you don't have the listed photo ID, and could not reasonably get one, you can still vote by signing a form and bringing an acceptable alternate ID.  You do NOT need your voter registration card to vote.
• Visit VOTE411.org or pick up a Voters Guide at a public library to see who and what is on your ballot so that you can vote informed.​
• Visit Bexar County Elections Department or call 210-335-8683 for answers to all your voting and elections questions.