Former state Representative John Davis joins the Jasons to discuss how wind and solar can help ranchers like him – and their communities.
DALLAS — West Texas rancher John Davis says he’s had enough of the Republican party’s attacks on renewables here in Texas.
“Everybody needs energy. Democrats need it. Republicans need it. I mean, we all need it. It should not be partisan, especially my own party, going against private property rights or economic development for rural Texas. Where did all their votes come from? Rural Texas,” Davis told us on Y’all-itics.
And that’s the thing; Davis is a lifelong Republican, even serving in the Texas House for 16 years between 1999 – 2015.
But his unwavering support of renewables puts him in the decided minority within GOP circles.
When it comes to subsidies, for instance, Davis says oil and gas are no different than wind and solar, and all benefit from them. If lawmakers limit subsidies for one, he argues, they should limit them for all.
“God gave it to us and let’s use it. We’ve used windmills in ranching for years to bring water out of the ground. How else do we get water out of the ground to feed our livestock,” said the rancher. “It’s just been really frustrating just to see my party so negative towards that. And it’s the lowest cost producer. Once it’s in place, it’s there.”
Beyond the politics of renewables, Davis says wind and solar can provide a needed lifeline to rural Texas.
He tells us the money he makes from the seven wind turbines on his property makes it easier to keep his West Texas ranch, which has been in the family since 1880.
Davis is also able to reinvest the disposable income provided by those turbines back into his local community of Menard, Texas, including opening the Menard Station, a local gathering spot that hosts a Farmers Market.
“They provide about 40% of the income for my ranch operations. And that’s been a big boost. Because these turbines, I tell people, I kind of joke about it, I don’t have to feed them. I don’t have to water them. I don’t have to mark them or castrate them. And I don’t have to worry about the price of the market at the stockyard. It can be good, or it can be bad,” shared Davis.