Testimony in opposition to SB 383 (anti-offshore wind)

Testimony in opposition to SB 383 (Middleton) “relating to prohibiting interconnection of an offshore wind power facility” by Environment Texas Executive Director Luke Metzger

Good Morning Chairman and Members. My name is Luke Metzger and I am the Executive Director of Environment Texas. I am respectfully opposed to the bill.

We have a lot of wind in the Gulf—according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, enough wind to produce 166% of Texas’s current electricity demand. It’s an incredible resource. And its clean energy; it’s a zero-emission resource that could help reduce pollution which is killing people and wildlife in the state, and so it is critical that we are tapping this energy. At the same time, it is important that we take great care to minimize the impact to migratory birds and marine mammals. Environment Texas joined with a number of organizations several years ago to submit comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management urging them to do just that. BOEM also factored in comments on shipping lanes, military considerations, and ultimately they picked wind energy areas that we felt did a good job of avoiding some of the areas that would have the greatest impact on migratory birds and marine mammals. It’s going to be a while before we see any turbines off the coast—at least a decade probably, or more. But we shouldn’t just be closing the door to that possibility. We may need that energy. ERCOT is telling us that we have a huge demand for electricity. We need all the energy we can get. And so the final thing I’ll mention is that offshore wind is very popular in Texas. Texas AM Galveston did a poll last fall and they found that 71% of Texans want offshore wind. They support more. Only 9% were opposed. It’s popular. It’s clean. It’s an enormous resource that we should take advantage of.

Unfortunately, the language in this bill is very subjective, directing the PUC to block offshore wind projects if they have “reason to believe” they will impact wildlife. I urge you to reject this bill.

Thank you.