Solar energy incentives are expiring and that means less access to power for Texans.
SAN ANTONIO — We all want cheaper electric bills. But Texans could be facing higher energy bills because of clean energy rollbacks which include slashing solar energy credits. These new policies could create a collapse in solar growth in Texas, just as demand for power surges.
Texas is the fastest growing solar market in the country, making enough power for 5 million homes. That number has been going up, but may not be going up that much at least in the short term. Abigail Ross Hopper, the CEO and president of the Solar Energy Industries Association told us, “By limiting the amount of solar that citizens can access. Businesses. Utilities. Homeowners. We are functionally and effectively raising the price of electricity. We’re already seeing it happening. We should be going the opposite direction with solar giving more incentives and rebates.”
The key to having enough power in a rapidly growing state, energy diversity. Hopper said, “If we want to keep Americans’ electricity bills as low as possible, we need to give them as many choices as possible, and certainly to give them access to the most affordable form of electricity.”
In the first half of 2025, Texas added four gigawatts of solar power, more than any other state. Right now, the solar industry supports 12,400 jobs in Texas and has invested $50 billion into the state’s economy. Having this massive amount of solar power and solar storage is imperative to keeping the lights on and AC running during the state’s record-breaking heat waves.
Solar is also the fastest form of energy when it comes to infrastructure and pushing out the energy we need quickly. Hopper added, “Faster than nukes, faster than gas, faster than coal, faster than when we’re the fastest. And so if we start limiting the amount of solar that gets deployed, data centers will not have access to their critical ingredient.”
Something else you may have heard of that grows off of the back of solar, a little thing called AI.
Hopper said, “The number one ingredient to make that happen is power. Reliable, affordable power. Solar is the number one, lowest price way to do that.”