(Faint) Glimmer of Hope for Solar Incentives

Saturday, May 30, 2009
(Faint) Glimmer of Hope for Solar Incentives
posted by Susan Peterson at 02:16 PM
At the stroke of midnight last night, Sen. Troy Fraser's SB 545, the "chosen" solar incentives bill for the legislative session, seemed to have drawn its last breath when Rep. Sylvester Turner killed its vehicle.
Fraser's solar bill would have provided incentives for solar installation, with a view to increasing solar energy generation in Texas. Since the bill didn't make it through the House chubfest last week, it was tacked on to HB 1243, which would require utilities to purchase extra electricity from on-site renewable generation.
Well: Would have required. Turner killed the bill last night, seemingly out of hurt feelings over other bills that didn't make it through the parliamentary process over the past day.
"All day long we have been sending bill after bill back on germaneness," Turner said, objecting to the fact that HB 1243 had absorbed three loosely related measures.
He also objected to the electricity rate increases that would have been passed onto consumers to fund the solar incentives. Still, at 20 cents per month for residential customers, the increases were quite small.
Turner raised point of order regarding the germaneness of the amendments, which was overruled by the parliamentarian. But he managed to put off a vote on whether the bill would go to conference committee until after midnight, thereby killing HB 1243 and all the bills - including the solar incentives bill - that had latched onto it in the form of amendments.
According to Environment Texas advocate Luke Metzger, establishing a solar incentives program is critical in Texas right now, since the solar manufacturing base isn't permanently settled anywhere. If Texans buy more solar systems, it could persuade manufacturer's to set up shop here. Without the incentives, Metzger says, "we'll miss the solar boat for decades to come, potentially."
But all hope is not lost. Last week's chubfest in the House has put legislators through an exercise in it ain't over 'til it's over. And it ain't over for solar incentives, which may find a viable vehicle in Fraser's own SB 546, the session's "chosen" energy efficiency bill, which is in conference committee today.
If SB 546 can accommodate solar incentives legislation, Metzger does not think there will be a problem with germaneness.
However, he points out, "the other danger still is timing. This all has to happen very quickly in order to avoid Turner or anyone else trying to chub it to death."