The boom of solar and wind energy in Texas is helping to support the state’s growing energy demand, and Republican lawmakers and legacy gas-fired power generators are losing ground in their efforts to squash its growth. 

While Republicans are historically known for being proponents of decreased government regulation, multiple bills have been introduced in the Texas legislature aimed at putting more regulations on solar and wind power — much at the behest of gas-fired power plants.

Following the 2021 winter storm power outage, which resulted in hundreds of deaths, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) initially blamed frozen wind turbines and solar panels. This prompted him to push for the building of more power plants, or, as he refers to it, “reliable power.” 

Data revealed that the 2021 power outage was in large part due to power sources not being prepared for severe winter weather and that the storms had a larger impact on natural gas infrastructure than wind turbines. Texas has since made strides in “winterizing” its electrical grid. 

However, excess energy from solar and wind power stored in battery farms in Texas has played a significant role in ensuring that the state, which operates on its own electrical grid, is able to meet rising demand. State officials attribute the ability to meet electricity demand to these batteries. 

Rising demand for electricity in the Lone Star State comes from oil and gas companies turning to power their operations through electricity. Permian Basin, the location of many of the state’s oil fields, is projected to produce the same level of electricity as Houston, Pablo Vegas, the head of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, told the New York Times.

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In July, Chinese manufacturer Hithium invested $100 million to build a battery plant in North Texas.

“At this point the legislature can’t do anything to stop the growth of solar and wind and batteries,” Ed Hirs, an economist and energy fellow at the University of Houston, told the outlet. “The state desperately needs it.”