Texas More than Doubles its Renewable Energy Requirement August
3, 2005 Texas Governor Rick Perry signed a bill on August 1st
that will significantly increase the state's requirement for the
use of renewable energy in its electrical supply. Senate Bill 20
(SB 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. See the governor's press release and the text of
the bill (PDF 47 KB).