Bill Adding Regulations To Texas Renewable Energy Misses Key Deadline

This story is part of the “Texas Energy Crossroads” project, a partnership between The Hill and Nexstar Texas stations examining the oil and gas industry and the politics surrounding it following President Trump’s second inauguration.

AUSTIN, Texas — Legislation that would have added several layers of regulation to new wind and solar power facilities — rules opposed by renewable energy producers and environmentalists — missed a key deadline Saturday and is unlikely to pass this year.

Senate Bill 819, authored by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, would require new utility-scale wind and solar plants to undergo Public Utility Commission approval and public notice. In addition, new wind turbines would have to be set back from neighboring property lines by twice the height of the turbine and blade unless a waiver was signed, according to the most recent version of the measure.

The bill passed the Senate but the House State Affairs Committee didn’t pass it by Saturday, the last day for House committees to report senate bills, according to legislative schedules.

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For and against SB 819

Kolkhorst described the new rules as necessary to “help balance the need for these structures with the state’s responsibility to protect nature.”

At a Senate committee hearing on the bill in March, Kolkhorst said her bill was not about stopping renewable energy production, but she was critical of the environmental and visual impact of wind and solar power plants and their intermittent electricity production.

Kolkhorst filed similar legislation in 2023 that didn’t pass. Back then, and now, the bill faced opposition from environmental groups, renewable energy producers and landowners profiting from wind and solar power plants located mostly in rural counties.

Jeff Clark, CEO of Advanced Power Alliance, said the bill would “kill” the state’s renewable energy industry.

Clark, who previously gave KXAN a tour of a South Texas wind and solar farm, noted Texas leads the country in renewable power production. Wind and solar, he said, keep Texans’ energy bills lower and reduce strain on the Texas grid during extreme summer heat and demand.

Adrian Shelley, Texas director of consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, applauded the likely failure of Senate Bill 819 as a “victory” for Texas electricity ratepayers, and he described it as a recognition that “renewable energy sources are an indispensable part of powering the state.”

Kolkhorst did not immediately respond to a request for comment.