 "Photo: Carson Werner/The Daily Texan")
Even though the state’s legislative session came to a close, the CleanTx Foundation, a partnership of organizations in support of clean energy, continues to push for green policy advances in Texas.
During the 2009 legislative session, several political forces offered their support for clean energy legislation but were unsuccessful in getting the bills passed.
Many bills filed during the session pushed for green energy, such as a “no regrets” strategy for greenhouse reduction in the state, a loan program for solar power installation and a measure that would promote state agencies to use low-emissions and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
David Brearley, technical editor of SolarPro Magazine, attended CleanTx’s Post-Legislative Panel on Wednesday to gain more information about the foundation’s future legislative goals.
“Without the legislative action on solar energy, Texas is missing out on business opportunities with companies investing in solar products,” Brearley said.
He said there has been much discussion about making Austin a central location for clean energy, but it has yet to be acted upon.
“The window of opportunity is closing for Texas to take advantage of federal stimulus funds by developing a solar industry,” Brearley said.
Jorge Moguel, who owns the local company My Trade Training, which provides continuing education and trains electrical engineers, said a boost in the Texas solar industry would provide new opportunities for people in the electrical field.
“The solar market appeared to be a good opportunity to develop many new jobs, but unfortunately, the legislation failed to pass,” Moguel said. “I hope they can soon effectively push for solar energy advances.”
CleanTx panel member John Pitts, vice president of development at Simple Solar, said several factors contributed to the failure to pass legislation.
“We can improve on communication, and it is imperative that this industry has someone who is engaged in talking to legislators,” Pitts said. “Also, several bills that were part of the conversation failed because they were not yet perfect. They were good but could have been improved upon.”
CleanTx regularly holds meetings and educational seminars on clean technology to advance its development in Texas. Executive Director Melissa Rabeaux said CleanTx hopes to make a difference by continuing to inform people on the benefits of green energy sources.
Brearley said that it would be best to pass the legislation sooner rather than later.
“Legislation on solar cap-and-trade is coming one way or another,” he said. “Texas can do it their way and be proactive or be told what to do by the feds.”
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