Photo by Al Braden
By Cyrus Reed
On August 29, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) met to decide which fracked gas power plant projects will get initial approval to receive $5 billion worth of new subsidies. The final number came to $5.3 billion for 17 projects that represent 9,781 megawatts (MW) of new gas power plants.
Quick reminder: this new subsidy program is now known as the Texas Energy Fund and came out of legislation (SB 2627) that passed the Texas Legislature in 2023 (and came with a constitutional amendment (Prop 7) which the voters approved under what many thought was a misleading description).
The Fund actually allows up to $10 billion of taxpayer funds to be used for four different programs, including the “in-ERCOT Loan Generation program, but the Texas Legislature only approved $5 billion last year, so expect polluting industries to lobby for more of our hard-earned money when the legislature reconvenes in January. The Sierra Club continues to point out that the programs promised money (the Backup Power Packages) to build microgrids and backup power packages for vulnerable communities, and resiliency projects outside of ERCOT. We continue to advocate that they get the money promised, even as other special interests have their hand out for more gas plants, or more recently, nuclear power plants.
In response to the PUCT decision, we put out this press statement, and also filed comments at the recent meeting of the State Senate Business and Commerce Committee held earlier this week. We pointed to the need to create a public portal so that Texans can give their input on the individual applications. Indeed, some 50 Texans have already sent in comments centered on two controversial projects. One of those projects - the Wolf Hollow II project proposed by Constellation Energy - made the list despite local opposition, due in part to the presence of a cryptomine in the area.
Just days after the PUCT decision came another announcement - the PUCT denied one of the 17 projects - known as “Application 162 - NextEra and Aegle Power” – when it emerged that the project was not supported by one of the listed applicants - while the other had previously committed fraud in Texas. In the embarrassing about-face, the PUCT issued a press release rejected the application for a 1,000+ MW combined cycle gas plant. According to the PUCT, “The application has failed the due diligence phase of the loan application process, and the project will not be eligible to receive a loan from the TEF. NextEra Energy notified the PUCT this week that it is not a party to the loan application.”
Not surprisingly, politicians were quick to jump on the PUCT for the lack of oversight, while also wondering how the application could have been selected given the obvious issues with the fraudulent applicant.
A copy of our comments to the Committee can be found here.