Opinion

Texas needs to incentivize solar power

6/3/2013: From top to bottom, Brady Miller, Anthony Duplantis and Jeremy Young with Texas Solar Outfitters install solar panels in a new constructed home located in the Dominion Falls subdivision in Humble, Texas. less 6/3/2013: From top to bottom, Brady Miller, Anthony Duplantis and Jeremy Young with Texas Solar Outfitters install solar panels in a new constructed home located in the Dominion Falls subdivision in Humble, ... more Photo: Thomas B. Shea Photo: Thomas B. Shea Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Texas needs to incentivize solar power 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Fifteen years ago, flat-screen televisions were a rare luxury item, and the era of cellphones was just beginning. Video chats happened mostly in "Star Trek" reruns, and few homes had broadband Internet service.

Just as all these technological advances have become commonplace, solar energy, a rather exotic power source at the start of the millennium, is growing faster than you might think. In 2013, across America, every four minutes, another home or business went solar. Here in Texas, solar energy grew 84 percent per year since 2010. That's fast enough to make a goal of 20 percent solar in Texas - a goal once thought ambitious, if not as impossible as personal video devices - readily achievable.

"Star Power: the Growing Role of Solar Energy in Texas," a recent report by Environment Texas Research & Policy Center, shows that growth actually could slow down to 61 percent and solar still would provide 20 percent of our power in the next decade.

This is a critical finding at a time when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is finalizing the Clean Power Plan, which would require Texas to cut 39 percent of its power plant carbon pollution. Achieving 20 percent solar energy would cut as much carbon pollution as 10 million cars emit in a year, and put Texas more than halfway to the benchmark set by the Clean Power Plan.

Boosting solar energy power production is more urgent than ever. Scientists have never been clearer that global warming is real, happening now and will only get worse without meaningful action. In Texas, we're already feeling consequences such as record drought and wildfires.

More solar isn't just good for the environment. It's also good for our economy. Solar is currently the fastest-growing industry in the country, adding 143,000 jobs nationwide in 2013. According to the latest solar jobs census from the Solar Foundation, the solar industry employed more than 4,000 people in Texas last year.

Of course, 20 percent solar is just a sliver of the possible. Already, the state is home to more than 3 million residential and commercial rooftops that could host solar panels, and it has enough technical potential to meet the state's energy needs 170 times over.

Although the state of Texas has done little to incentivize solar, Texas cities have shown tremendous leadership. By setting bold goals for solar, San Antonio now ranks sixth in the nation for total installed solar and just this spring, solar companies collaborated to open a solar manufacturing plant in the city that will create 400 new jobs.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, Austin Energy finalized a historic contract to purchase 150-megawatts of solar energy for less than the average cost of natural gas. Earlier this month, the Austin City Council passed a new generation plan that would boost the city's solar goals from 200 megawatts to 950 megawatts. Once those goals are met, if Austin were a state, we would be second only to California for solar capacity. The new generation plan is a key step toward a goal of 20 percent solar for Texas.

Houston also is making big strides in renewable energy by investing heavily in wind and recently installing solar panels on the roof of the George R. Brown Convention Center. However, a lack of solar friendly policies and goals has caused the city to fall behind - only ranking 32nd in the nation for total installed solar. With proper leadership from local officials and utilities, Houston can easily catch up to the two shining cities of Texas and reap the economic and environmental benefits of going solar.

Twenty percent solar is a small fraction of our vast potential, but it would make a big difference in the quality of our lives and our children's future. It would also put us on the path to the 100 percent clean energy future we need for the health of our planet. And in 2025, we'll be writing about how odd it was that 10 years ago some homes still had phones that were connected to the wall, and only a minuscule amount of energy came from the sun.

Clark is a campaign organizer for Environment Texas, an Austin-based nonprofit.