Giving Compass' Take:

• Drew Nelson argues that with bipartisan legislation, Texas can reduce carbon emissions while maintaining its status as the global energy hub.

• How can funders work to help Texas make this shift? Can other states benefit from this approach? 

• Find out how clean energy can bring jobs to rural communities. 

Energy deregulation passed by former Govs. George W. Bush and Rick Perry have helped reduce Texas power emissions, but plenty of work remains. The next step for the market in Texas is to unleash DERs to replace its legacy coal. Removing barriers to individuals and companies investing in DERs and opening opportunities to better participate in the market will spawn a revolution in battery storage, self-generation, demand response, and even electric vehicles while increasing resiliency. Policymakers should ensure these technologies achieve their promise by removing current barriers that discourage investments in DERs such as restrictive municipal ordinances, onerous processes for interconnection, and discriminatory retail rates.

There is even more work to be done in the industrial and oil and gas sectors in Texas. Texas is already the No. 1 emitter in both sectors. Projections show increased emissions as Permian production continues to boom, leading to new and expanded refineries, petrochemical facilities, and LNG exports on the Gulf Coast. Without clear and decisive action, the increased carbon emissions will more than offset reductions from Texas power emissions while also increasing air pollution. To put the scale of potential reductions in perspective, 2030 estimates from the Rhodium U.S. Climate Service show that more reductions can be made in the Texas industrial sector alone than would be achieved nationally by implementing the original Clean Power Plan or national Fuel Efficiency Standards.

Given the scale of Texas emissions, failure to implement these solutions likely means that eventually Washington will impose its solutions instead. The choice is clear. However, what is not clear is if current policymakers can keep up with the innovation former leaders helped create in Texas.

Read the full article about clean energy in Texas by Drew Nelson at The Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation.