Report: Going green could create thousands of Texas jobs

HARLINGEN — Increasing renewable and clean energy statewide could spur economic growth and create thousands of jobs in Texas over the next 10 years, a new report states.

Former Texas deputy chief comptroller Billy C. Hamilton, speaking at Texas State Technical College Wednesday, laid out the findings of his new economic study on renewable energy programs in Texas, outlining his report funded by the Austin-based Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation.

“The economic benefits would be spectacular” if the state committed to expanding and supporting “green” and renewable energy projects, Hamilton wrote in his report.

Hamilton, now a fiscal policy and tax consultant, claimed that if the state aggressively pursued policies to support the clean energy sector, namely wind, solar and bio fuels, jobs statewide could jump as much as 22,900 per year and the gross state product could increase by $2.7 billion every year.

Hamilton told the small crowd Wednesday that large-scale investment, or a 20 percent increase in renewable energy infrastructure around the state, could cost roughly $4 per month for the average Texas family but would in turn increase local and state sales tax revenues by $279 million per year.

Hamilton acknowledged that fluctuations in oil prices, changes in energy storage technology, various government regulation, tax incentives for companies, and private research funding could alter the predictions of his report.

Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell spoke at the meeting, saying, “I think that this is the perfect industry for us to try to develop and nurture here.”

Bill Martin, chief executive officer for the Harlingen Economic Development Corporation, called
the report an “eye opener,” and remarked that he and other local business and economic development entities have actively been pursuing renewable energy companies, hoping to bring them to the Rio Grande Valley.

“We are actively trying to spread the word about opportunities in this region,” Martin said. “We have a lot to offer the renewable energy market in this area.”

Martin also chairs the Rio South Texas Economic Council, an association of business leaders and economic development corporations in the region on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. The group, Martin said, has been eying solar, wind and biofuel startup companies, hoping to draw parts of the renewable energy industry to South Texas.

Still, Martin said, the renewable energy industry is young and widely undeveloped. “These things don’t happen overnight…A lot of these are start-up companies, high-risk companies that need venture capital and seed funding,” he said.

Hamilton’s report lays out a handful of what he called “barriers” to renewable energy development. Transmission of solar and wind power is still a major challenge to energy companies, Hamilton said, estimating that roughly 33 percent of power generated from those sources ever reaches households. Hamilton predicted that transmission problems will likely be resolved down the road as the technology is improved and refined over time.

Regulation, tax issues and funding for renewable energy projects still remain the formidable challenges to clean energy development, Hamilton said. Regulations and permitting criteria, he writes in his report, are inconsistent across various regions, and cutting through the layers of government red tape makes it difficult for many companies to get off the ground, he said.

“The shear length of time for projects to get off the ground makes it difficult for some,” Hamilton said. Federal tax credits often help drive clean energy development, but Hamilton claimed the sporadic nature of renewals for those credits has hindered investment.

“The big impetus for renewable energy comes from federal funding and tax credits, and letting those lapse really disrupts development,” he said.

Martin agreed, saying there were several “regulatory infrastructure and tax-related issues
that need to be resolved” before clean energy development could reach its potential in Texas.