The votes are in, and Texans overwhelmingly voted “yes” for Proposition 7, which will funnel billions of dollars to fund fossil fuel power plants instead of turning to renewables to back up the state’s fragile electrical grid. The proposition will allow the creation of a $10 billion energy fund, none of which can go to wind, solar, or battery storage.
More than 64% of eligible Texas voters voted in favor of Proposition 7, according to a report from The New York Times Wednesday. The proposition authorizes the Public Utility Commission of Texas to create the “Texas Energy Fund,” which will provide 3% interest loans for constructing power plants that can generate more than 100 megawatts. The fund will total approximately $10 billion, and more than $7 billion of the money will go towards the loans and completion grants.
The results of Tuesday’s vote comes over two years after millions experienced outages during a deadly winter storm that likely led to the death of more than 200 Texans in 2021.
Texas State Sen. Charles Schwertner (R), who pushed the proposition, rejoiced at the election results.
“Glad to see the voters supported Proposition 7 to ensure Texans have the electric generation they need to keep their lights on during extreme weather conditions,” he said in a statement, according to the Dallas Morning News Wednesday.
Environmental groups in the state are concerned that funneling billions towards loans and grants for power plants will undermine the role of renewable energy as a more reliable backup for extreme conditions. Sourcing natural gas also releases a ton of methane into the atmosphere. Even though this greenhouse gas doesn’t stick around for as long as carbon dioxide, it is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a two-decade period.
Activists and environmental experts said that they will continue to support legislation that will expand renewable energy sources, even though Texas elected officials don’t seem as likely to do so. Luke Metzger, the executive director of Environment Texas, said that he was disappointed but not surprised by the vote.
”The ballot language refers to funding ‘electric generating facilities’ but doesn’t say wind, solar, and batteries are excluded, which polls show are among the most popular sources of energy,” he said in an email to Earther Wednesday. “The Legislature has chosen to put their thumb on the scale for methane gas power plants (the only energy source likely to benefit from this fund), which is the wrong direction for our climate.”
Dave Cortez, the director of the Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter, said that the proposition was “pro-fossil fuel industry” but not “pro-Texan.”
“Our grid instability is real,” he said in an online statement. “But Prop 7, which offers up to $10 billion of taxpayer money to private corporations for the construction of new, polluting gas plants at the exclusion of more sustainable solutions only props up an energy source that is responsible for the most power outages in winter and contributes to rapid warming and record-breaking heat waves.”
Yesterday’s vote did, however, lead to some environmental wins for the state. Texans overwhelmingly voted yes for Proposition 6, which creates a fund to update the state’s water infrastructure and mitigate water loss, the Texas Tribune reported. About 76% of Texans also voted in favor of Proposition 14, which creates a fund for improving and creating state parks.
Want more climate and environment stories? Check out Earther’s guides to decarbonizing your home, divesting from fossil fuels, packing a disaster go bag, and overcoming climate dread. And don’t miss our coverage of the latest IEA report on clean energy, the future of carbon dioxide removal, and the invasive plants you should rip to shreds.
