Texas bill would ban offshore wind farms in state waters from connecting to ERCOT’s grid

AUSTIN – The Houston Chronicle reports that Texas lawmakers have advanced a bill to prohibit offshore wind turbines in the Gulf of Mexico from connecting to the state’s primary power grid through state waters. Senate Bill 383 passed narrowly out of the relevant Texas House committee in a Tuesday meeting that wasn’t broadcast to the public or recorded. Since the bill has already been approved by the state Senate, all that’s left before it heads to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk is a vote by the full House floor. The bill applies to any offshore wind energy facility and related power grid infrastructure located in waters under state jurisdiction, which extends nine nautical miles from the Texas coastline. A previous version of the bill would have given the state utility regulator the authority to approve or deny such projects based on their impact on shipping routes, tourism, fishing, wildlife and other factors.

The latest version of the bill simply bars any offshore wind project in Texas waters from connecting to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas power grid at all. Luke Metzger, director of Environment Texas, an environmental advocacy nonprofit, said the bill would essentially “ban offshore wind” for the Texas power grid. That’s more or less the point, the bill’s author, state Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, said in his remarks ahead of the Senate vote on the bill earlier this month. Texas should focus on building “dispatchable” energy resources, a term state legislators most commonly use to refer to natural gas power plants, instead of offshore wind, he said. “Texas should continue its commitment to reliable, dispatchable energy, and categorically reject this wasteful and unwanted program that will damage Texas,” said Middleton, who owns his own oil and gas company. He highlighted offshore wind’s potential negative impacts on shipping routes and wildlife.