August 5, 2005—Texas Governor Rick Perry signed a bill recently that will significantly increase the state’s requirement for the use of renewable energy in its electrical supply.
Senate Bill 20 requires the state’s generating capacity from renewable energy sources to reach 5,880 megawatts by 2015, an amount capable of producing about 5 percent of the state’s electricity needs. It also sets a goal of reaching 10,000 megawatts in renewable energy capacity by 2025.
The bill helps to further diversify the state’s sources of energy by requiring that 500 megawatts be produced by renewable energy sources other than wind power. The bill instructs the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas to require utilities to add to their transmission systems as necessary to meet the renewable energy goal, and to allow utilities to recover the cost of such projects in their electric rates.
For more information, see the governors press release. Or download the text of the bill.
