Don't move to Texas
- Thread starter bnew
- Start date
1/11
@asj519
So the camp could avoid carrying flood insurance. So they’re not accredited and repeated appealed warnings from federal regulators and had no flood insurance. Aight.
[Quoted tweet]
BREAKING: FEMA removed dozens of Camp Mystic buildings from their 100-year flood map in Texas in response to appeals. apnews.com/article/texas-flo…
2/11
@asj519
Them poor kids died for the negligence of adults. Including their parents. The city, the county, the state, the owners of the camp. Stupidity abounds
3/11
@jautumnlauren
This is what happens when allow certain folks to think they are above the rules
4/11
@asj519
Chile…now look, ppl died!
5/11
@Ray5893
It’s like everytime I turn around this situation becomes more and more appalling. At some point SOMEBODY has to answer for all of this… right…? RIGHT…???????
6/11
@ladynightshade6
They don't have to accept fiscal responsibility if they weren't required to have flood insurance. The victim's families will depend on money from themselves and taxed citizens instead to cover funeral costs. They can just close the camp and say, "Oh well, this sucks."
7/11
@YeahImThirsty
@deaqonjameslv
8/11
@ChronicBabak
[Quoted tweet]
Kerr County officials were given over $10 million in federal funds by the Biden administration for them to MAKE CRITICAL UPGRADES TO ITS FLOOD WARNING SYSTEMS, and yet they only reluctantly accepted it to prevent it from going to a blue state, then spent it on law enforcement.
https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/1943770514972930048/vid/avc1/720x1560/I1ID7rmjqDwoX4l7.mp4
9/11
@szetoinsitu
The camp mystic owners really went All In on Deus Vult. ;(
10/11
@Jayelache
the things they do for a $1 is wild
11/11
@aplus_tweets
Ntm, the ppl of thr county fought against accepting federal infrastructure funds to install a siren system
To post tweets in this format, more info here: https://www.thecoli.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-for-posting-the-coli-megathread.984734/post-52211196
@asj519
So the camp could avoid carrying flood insurance. So they’re not accredited and repeated appealed warnings from federal regulators and had no flood insurance. Aight.
[Quoted tweet]
BREAKING: FEMA removed dozens of Camp Mystic buildings from their 100-year flood map in Texas in response to appeals. apnews.com/article/texas-flo…
2/11
@asj519
Them poor kids died for the negligence of adults. Including their parents. The city, the county, the state, the owners of the camp. Stupidity abounds
3/11
@jautumnlauren
This is what happens when allow certain folks to think they are above the rules
4/11
@asj519
Chile…now look, ppl died!
5/11
@Ray5893
It’s like everytime I turn around this situation becomes more and more appalling. At some point SOMEBODY has to answer for all of this… right…? RIGHT…???????
6/11
@ladynightshade6
They don't have to accept fiscal responsibility if they weren't required to have flood insurance. The victim's families will depend on money from themselves and taxed citizens instead to cover funeral costs. They can just close the camp and say, "Oh well, this sucks."
7/11
@YeahImThirsty
@deaqonjameslv
8/11
@ChronicBabak
[Quoted tweet]
Kerr County officials were given over $10 million in federal funds by the Biden administration for them to MAKE CRITICAL UPGRADES TO ITS FLOOD WARNING SYSTEMS, and yet they only reluctantly accepted it to prevent it from going to a blue state, then spent it on law enforcement.
https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/1943770514972930048/vid/avc1/720x1560/I1ID7rmjqDwoX4l7.mp4
9/11
@szetoinsitu
The camp mystic owners really went All In on Deus Vult. ;(
10/11
@Jayelache
the things they do for a $1 is wild
11/11
@aplus_tweets
Ntm, the ppl of thr county fought against accepting federal infrastructure funds to install a siren system
To post tweets in this format, more info here: https://www.thecoli.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-for-posting-the-coli-megathread.984734/post-52211196
1/21
@AP
BREAKING: FEMA removed dozens of Camp Mystic buildings from their 100-year flood map in Texas in response to appeals. FEMA removed dozens of Camp Mystic buildings from 100-year flood map before expansion, records show
2/21
@ShamarDBradley
“The Federal Emergency Management Agency included the prestigious girls’ summer camp in a “Special Flood Hazard Area” in its National Flood Insurance map for Kerr County in 2011, which means it was required to have flood insurance and faced tighter regulation on any future construction projects.
In response to an appeal, FEMA in 2013 amended the county’s flood map to remove 15 of the camp’s buildings from the hazard area. Records show that those buildings were part of the 99-year-old Camp Mystic Guadalupe, which was devastated by last week’s flood.
After further appeals, FEMA removed 15 more Camp Mystic structures in 2019 and 2020 from the designation. Those buildings were located on nearby Camp Mystic Cypress Lake, a sister site that opened to campers in 2020 as part of a major expansion and suffered less damage in the flood.
Experts say Camp Mystic’s requests to amend the FEMA map could have been an attempt to avoid the requirement to carry flood insurance, to lower the camp’s insurance premiums or to pave the way for renovating or adding new structures under less costly regulations.”
3/21
@SarcasmISwit
"In response to an appeal, FEMA in 2013 amended the county’s flood map to remove 15 of the camp’s buildings from the hazard area."
4/21
@PepperGii
Initial narrative was that cuts to the NWS had no impact on the Texas floods and then sure enough the truth comes out that updating flood maps were part of the cuts.
5/21
@HOUmanitarian
Do we need a weather alert for all the other shoes that are dropping?
6/21
@Mr3v3ryThang
Ut Oh!
7/21
@alexandre_lores
So it wasn’t @DOGE cuts. Some people need to issue an apology.
8/21
@atownsquare
/search?q=#Investigate
9/21
@SophieMae1022
Your expert source is a TDS activist who spent the last 8 years screaming about social justice. Hundreds of anti-Trump rants. No thanks.
10/21
@DatHandsomeJerk
They did this to themselves, tragically
11/21
@WeSee2024
Texas repeatedly appealed FEMA trying to protect the area. Smh!
12/21
@rotundainsights
This is deeply troubling, especially in light of the recent tragedy. What was the rationale for these appeals, and what are the implications for safety and accountability?
13/21
@KristiMStahr
If Trump were president in 2011, this headline would read "Trump removed..."
14/21
@VesperAegis
90% of map amendments approved? A real shocker:
"It found that the amendments occurred more often in places where property values were higher, more white people lived and buildings were newer."
15/21
@Nicole1515
The GOPs entire goal is and has always been deregulation which is: "we don't care if you needlessly die as long as we can save or make a buck."
16/21
@TeamDeplorablez
Are these the same guys that wanted to let Trump supporters drown in Florida during the hurricanes?
EXCLUSIVE: FEMA Official Ordered Relief Workers To Skip Houses With Trump Signs
EXCLUSIVE: FEMA Official Ordered Relief Workers To Skip Houses With Trump Signs
17/21
@GoodnerThe
FEMA is a hotbed of disgraceful liberal bureaucrats who spent the last four years flying Haitians into the country illegally in the dead of night and giving them government-paid benefits at our expense.
18/21
@bryant865
breaking: parents/adult camp staff ignored hours of flood warnings leading to dozens of children dying horrific deaths of drowning
what else matters?
19/21
@tonybalogna
AP can’t help but ruin a rare good article produced by them with race communism nonsense halfway through
20/21
@JudgeHimJim
FEMA found guilty of map editing magic. I sentence this move to high scrutiny and a rain check from Mother Nature.
21/21
@PaulKa93
How do Democrats sleep at night knowing that they killed a farmer in California.
/search?q=#Democrats
Democrats and Liberals you have blood on your hands.
You told them to resist ICE, and now the poor guy is dead.
/search?q=#California
To post tweets in this format, more info here: https://www.thecoli.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-for-posting-the-coli-megathread.984734/post-52211196
@AP
BREAKING: FEMA removed dozens of Camp Mystic buildings from their 100-year flood map in Texas in response to appeals. FEMA removed dozens of Camp Mystic buildings from 100-year flood map before expansion, records show
2/21
@ShamarDBradley
“The Federal Emergency Management Agency included the prestigious girls’ summer camp in a “Special Flood Hazard Area” in its National Flood Insurance map for Kerr County in 2011, which means it was required to have flood insurance and faced tighter regulation on any future construction projects.
In response to an appeal, FEMA in 2013 amended the county’s flood map to remove 15 of the camp’s buildings from the hazard area. Records show that those buildings were part of the 99-year-old Camp Mystic Guadalupe, which was devastated by last week’s flood.
After further appeals, FEMA removed 15 more Camp Mystic structures in 2019 and 2020 from the designation. Those buildings were located on nearby Camp Mystic Cypress Lake, a sister site that opened to campers in 2020 as part of a major expansion and suffered less damage in the flood.
Experts say Camp Mystic’s requests to amend the FEMA map could have been an attempt to avoid the requirement to carry flood insurance, to lower the camp’s insurance premiums or to pave the way for renovating or adding new structures under less costly regulations.”
3/21
@SarcasmISwit
"In response to an appeal, FEMA in 2013 amended the county’s flood map to remove 15 of the camp’s buildings from the hazard area."
4/21
@PepperGii
Initial narrative was that cuts to the NWS had no impact on the Texas floods and then sure enough the truth comes out that updating flood maps were part of the cuts.
5/21
@HOUmanitarian
Do we need a weather alert for all the other shoes that are dropping?
6/21
@Mr3v3ryThang
Ut Oh!
7/21
@alexandre_lores
So it wasn’t @DOGE cuts. Some people need to issue an apology.
8/21
@atownsquare
/search?q=#Investigate
9/21
@SophieMae1022
Your expert source is a TDS activist who spent the last 8 years screaming about social justice. Hundreds of anti-Trump rants. No thanks.
10/21
@DatHandsomeJerk
They did this to themselves, tragically
11/21
@WeSee2024
Texas repeatedly appealed FEMA trying to protect the area. Smh!
12/21
@rotundainsights
This is deeply troubling, especially in light of the recent tragedy. What was the rationale for these appeals, and what are the implications for safety and accountability?
13/21
@KristiMStahr
If Trump were president in 2011, this headline would read "Trump removed..."
14/21
@VesperAegis
90% of map amendments approved? A real shocker:
"It found that the amendments occurred more often in places where property values were higher, more white people lived and buildings were newer."
15/21
@Nicole1515
The GOPs entire goal is and has always been deregulation which is: "we don't care if you needlessly die as long as we can save or make a buck."
16/21
@TeamDeplorablez
Are these the same guys that wanted to let Trump supporters drown in Florida during the hurricanes?
EXCLUSIVE: FEMA Official Ordered Relief Workers To Skip Houses With Trump Signs
EXCLUSIVE: FEMA Official Ordered Relief Workers To Skip Houses With Trump Signs
17/21
@GoodnerThe
FEMA is a hotbed of disgraceful liberal bureaucrats who spent the last four years flying Haitians into the country illegally in the dead of night and giving them government-paid benefits at our expense.
18/21
@bryant865
breaking: parents/adult camp staff ignored hours of flood warnings leading to dozens of children dying horrific deaths of drowning
what else matters?
19/21
@tonybalogna
AP can’t help but ruin a rare good article produced by them with race communism nonsense halfway through
20/21
@JudgeHimJim
FEMA found guilty of map editing magic. I sentence this move to high scrutiny and a rain check from Mother Nature.
21/21
@PaulKa93
How do Democrats sleep at night knowing that they killed a farmer in California.
/search?q=#Democrats
Democrats and Liberals you have blood on your hands.
You told them to resist ICE, and now the poor guy is dead.
/search?q=#California
To post tweets in this format, more info here: https://www.thecoli.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-for-posting-the-coli-megathread.984734/post-52211196
mastermind
Rest In Power Kobe
Nah man, BBB gave them ten million for a system and they gave it to the county sheriff’s department. That NY Times article is awful journalism.
Last edited:
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
ICE Barbie Rages at Being Caught Failing Texas Flood Victims
“The New York Times” found that FEMA failed to answer nearly two-thirds of distressed calls as flooding engulfed Central Texas.
Wargames
One Of The Last Real Ones To Do It
It’s tribalism, greed, and ineptitude like she describes in the video that is ruining America.
The thing about Texas is they got to have some of the worst political leadership in America and no ever seems to call it out down there. So Texans keep getting screwed
ADevilYouKhow
Rhyme Reason
Some Texas Officials Didn’t Respond to Flood Alerts, Echoing the Tragedies of Hurricane Helene
Weather warnings predicted devastation from both the Texas floods and Hurricane Helene. But in both disasters, people were left in harm’s way.
www.propublica.org
ADevilYouKhow
Rhyme Reason
ADevilYouKhow
Rhyme Reason
ADevilYouKhow
Rhyme Reason
Why conservative stars REGRET moving to Texas
More and more conservative stars are beginning to turn on Texas after leaving New York and California for the conservative state.
Conservative stars now REGRET leaving California to follow Joe Rogan to Texas: 'It's no Los Angeles!'
- Blaire White and Tim Dillon admit that they regret leaving Los Angeles for Austin
- A number of people fled California over the last five years for Republican states
- READ MORE: Parenting influencer with 11 children faces backlash
By J. PETERSON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
Published: 10:20 EDT, 23 July 2025 | Updated: 15:27 EDT, 23 July 2025
More and more conservative stars are beginning to turn on Texas after leaving New York and California.
Joe Rogan was the first big star to make the move, with the podcasting titan fleeing Los Angeles and moving his family into a $14 million mansion in Austin in 2020.
Many of Rogan's comedian pals enthusiastically followed him there - only to deeply regret their decision after arriving.
Tim Dillon was the first to jump ship, with the Thanksgiving star fleeing Austin after just a few months in the Lone Star State.
Dillon had followed Rogan to Austin in 2020, only to make an emergency exit by the end of that year after discovering that the city didn't have enough good restaurants.
'It's a horrible city without a soul,' he told fellow comedian Whitney Cummings when describing his stint in Austin.
'It's not the live music capital of America. It's three heroin addicts busking with guitars. There's zero talent here in any capacity,' he raged.
'There's three restaurants that are good and I've been to all of them twice.'
Joe Rogan's conservative friends, including influencer Blaire White, are heading back to California after following the comedian to Austin, Texas
Rogan fled Los Angeles in 2020 and moved his family into a $14 million mansion in Austin
In another interview, Dillon said that Austin 'can't be compared to New York and Los Angeles.'
He also told the H3 podcast that the city was filled with homeless people, had a 'sewage colored lake,' and that most of the residents would 'get drunk and shoot each other' for fun.
Rogan's longtime friend, comedian and MMA fighter Brendan Schaub, has also come to regret his move to Austin.
The 42-year-old relocated his family to the city earlier this year, but he recently confessed on his Fighter and the Kid podcast that he was 'heartbroken' about leaving Los Angeles and said he misses the city terribly.
'I miss my community and my routine,' he admitted.
He also shared a bleak story about meeting another Los Angeles transplant in Texas who warned him that it might take up to three years for him to acclimate to life in Austin.
'He said, "Texas is great, best decision I've ever made. But you should know that it's no LA. There's no replacing LA",' Schaub recalled.
Comedian Shane Gillis, who is another one of Rogan's pals, has also shared a similar sentiment.
Tim Dillon had followed Rogan to Austin in 2020, only to make an emergency exit by the end of that year after discovering that the city didn't have enough good restaurants
Gillis has repeatedly complained about the homeless situation in Austin, calling the drug-crazed vagrants in town 'screaming runners.'
'Texas f***ing blows,' he told comedian Andrew Schulz while sharing a story about how the power in his Austin home went out for three days due to a bad storm.
'It's hot as f**k. The second we ran out of power the house was 90 degrees and bugs came in immediately. The house was filled with bugs.'
Gillis moved to Austin in 2023 because Texas has no income tax.
He also wanted to be close to Rogan's standup club the Comedy Mothership.
Rogan's longtime friend, comedian and MMA fighter Brendan Schaub, has also come to regret his move to Austin and now says that he misses living in Los Angeles
Even celebrities with no connection to Rogan or the comedy scene have voiced regrets about moving to Texas.
Male model Lucky Blue Smith and his influencer wife Nara, who is famous for her trad wife content, left Los Angeles in 2022 to move to Dallas.
However, within just two years the couple announced that they were leaving the city to live in Connecticut so that they could be closer to New York.
In a TikTok video, Nara said that living in Connecticut would allow the couple to own a large house where they could raise their family, while still 'being closer to a bigger city for all the work that we do.'
Earlier this week, transgender conservative influencer Blaire White announced that she was leaving Texas after four years to return to her home state of California.
The 31-year-old fled her Hollywood home in 2021 amid rising homelessness and the state's tyrannical Covid policies to move to Austin, Texas.
Rogan's pal Shane Gillis (left) moved to Austin in 2023 due to the low taxes, but now says that the city 'blows' because it's too hot and is filled with bugs and homeless people
Conservative social media star Mike Cernovich, who lives in Orange County, has also come out swinging against Austin
However, she announced this week that she's ready to return to California after spending the last four years in Austin.
Addressing the major life change in a YouTube video, the transgender social media star shared her surprising reason behind the shock relocation.
'I was born there, so it is home for better or for worse,' Chico-born Blaire said.
'There are a lot of problems with California and a lot of people like to write off New York and California and say, "Just let them go overboard, let them burn," and I find that to be a very un-American perspective to hold,' she continued.
'California in my opinion is the most beautiful place in the world. Yes, I said the world,' she added.
'And it's even more of a shame because of that that it's run by demons.'
While Blaire said that Los Angeles has now become 'ghetto and downtrodden,' she explained that she wants to return to the City of Angels to help improve it.
'I want to be someone who's part of the solution. I want to be someone who doesn't run from problems,' she insisted.
'I moved to Texas in the middle of Covid. So I moved to Texas in crisis. The lockdowns weren't ending, so much trauma from that, so much craziness, so it was kind of like an evacuation,' she continued.
Male model Lucky Blue Smith and his influencer wife Nara, left Los Angeles in 2022 to move to Dallas
The couple left Texas after two years to move to Connecticut so that they could be closer to the bright lights of New York City
The YouTube star said that she's also eyeing a run for political office in the future and is excited to add her voice to California politics as a political commentator.
Conservative social media star Mike Cernovich has also come out swinging against Austin.
The MAGA influencer, who is based in Orange County, recently called the Texas city a 'total dump.'
'Austin was disgusting when I first went there, 2017 or so. I expected culture or whatever, it got so much hype,' he posted on X (formerly Twitter).
'I was looking forward to it. Total dump. There's like two blocks, a dirty river, flat land, and that street where all the drunks go to try kill each other.'
From the early 1800s to the 1960s, New York was the undisputed most populous state in America.
California overtook New York in 1964 and has been the most crowded ever since.
New York dropped back to third place in 1994, when Texas surged past 18.1 million people. Florida later surpassed the Empire State.
Earlier this week, transgender conservative influencer Blaire White announced that she was leaving Texas after four years to return to her home state of California
'California in my opinion is the most beautiful place in the world. Yes, I said the world,' Blaire said in a YouTube video
A February study from moveBuddha projected that Texas and Florida would be the first and second biggest states, respectively, by 2100, followed by California, Georgia, North Carolina, and New York.
California has been steadily losing hundreds of thousands of citizens since 2019, before posting a moderate gain in 2023.
Read More
[URL='https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-14930461/Transgender-actress-Laverne-Cox-fire-woke-fans-revealing-MAGA-cop-boyfriend.html']
Many cite high cost of living and poor quality of life as reasons why they left the Golden State.
Data has shown nearly half of the people moving out of California in 2021 were millennials. Many of them headed to Texas counties around major cities such as Houston, Dallas and Austin.
Florida, like Texas, has also had a population boom, with more than 700,000 people moving there in 2022.
The fact that Texas and Florida don't levy income taxes on their citizens is a major pulling factor from California and New York, both of which have top marginal rates over 10 percent.
Still, there are some major drawbacks that could slow these states' march to dominance.
For one, both Texas and Florida have been hit with dramatically more natural disasters in the last 10 years, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
MAGA Star Hit With Bombshell Allegations After Wife’s Biblical Divorce Drama
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s wife is divorcing him. Now he’s facing fraud claims.
absolutely f'ing crazy that this fukk is still AG, still practicing law, and not already in prison for life
just sprinkle in a little? a lot of mortgage fraud I guess
:focal(0x0:2400x1600)/static.texastribune.org/media/files/33969d744520660b68279346baf0bfbd/0416%20Solarcycle%20EH%20TT%2027.jpg)
Texans will pay higher power bills as clean energy development slows because of tax credit cuts, economists say
The One Big Beautiful Bill drastically shortens the timeline for wind and solar projects to qualify for tax credits. This will impact even Texas, where wind and solar power have boomed and power demand is rising.
www.texastribune.org
Texans will pay higher power bills as clean energy development slows because of tax credit cuts, economists say
The One Big Beautiful Bill drastically shortens the timeline for wind and solar projects to qualify for tax credits. This will impact even Texas, where wind and solar power have boomed and power demand is rising.
By Emily Foxhall and Gabby Birenbaum
July 24, 202511 AM Central
Republish
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/33969d744520660b68279346baf0bfbd/0416%20Solarcycle%20EH%20TT%2027.jpg "A solar project on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, in Ector County.")
A solar project in Ector County. The Trump administration's rollback of tax credits will mean fewer renewable energy projects get built in Texas, experts say. Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune
Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy, and give us feedback.
Economists expect that the development of solar and wind farms nationwide will slow and electricity prices will rise in the coming decade because of significant rollbacks to tax credits that benefited those industries, in addition to other economic uncertainty.
Texas, which has built more wind power than any state and is a top contender for the most solar power, faces this projected slowdown as grid operators predict soaring electricity demand.
Energy analysts have noted that an unusually high number of solar and battery projects in the state were already canceled or paused in the months leading up to the tax credit cuts because of uncertainty over how deep the cuts would be and the specifics of tariffs that would raise the price of steel.
From battery manufacturing in Brookshire to a solar product facility in Stratford, advocates worried that billions in announced investment and tens of thousands of planned jobs might get killed as project economics change.
With less renewable development likely comes lower employment, pressure on grid reliability and slower state economic growth, said Robert Stavins, a professor of environmental economics at Harvard University.
“From an economic perspective, it’s not good for Texas,” Stavins said.
Sweeping Democratic legislation that passed under former President Joe Biden dramatically expanded credits for clean energy producers. The policy changes brought billions of dollars of investment to Texas, much of it to red districts. The goal was to lower greenhouse gas emissions and establish the U.S. as a top clean energy manufacturer and producer.
President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill on July 4 in an effort to extend tax cuts from his first term and lower federal spending. Among its sweeping changes, the law dramatically shortens the time frame for when solar and wind companies can use the Biden-era tax credits.
Texas’ two Republican senators and 25 House Republicans all voted to end the subsidies early — with some, like Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, grousing that Congress did not go far enough. Trump is now taking steps to restrict wind and solar project development further by slowing permitting timelines on federal land and tightening eligibility rules for projects trying to qualify for tax credits before they phase down.
On top of that are the unknowns around inflation, tariffs and geopolitics, which combine to create broad economic drag, said John D. Sterman, professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
“All that uncertainty just makes business people very uncomfortable, and that generally depresses investment everywhere,” Sterman said. “It’s not just what’s in the Big Beautiful Bill.”
Economists and energy analysts have been crunching the numbers on how bad the fallout for solar and wind companies could be from the new law. The business-friendly regulatory environment and ample windy and sunny places that fueled Texas’ clean energy boom should help keep some business coming. But experts say wind, solar and battery growth will still be hampered.
The research group Energy Innovation Policy and Technology estimated that by 2035 in Texas there will be 54 fewer gigawatts of solar developed and 23 fewer gigawatts of wind developed because of the policy changes. One gigawatt can power around 250,000 homes in Texas during high demand.
This is because, with the expiration of the federal tax credits, some clean energy projects simply won’t make financial sense to build anymore. As a result, gas plants will need to run for more hours to meet demand, which will drive gas prices higher and push the price of power higher too, experts said. A Princeton analysis predicted that because of the new policy, greenhouse gas emissions will increase, while electricity bills in Texas will rise by 5% by 2035.
“For Texas, where you're really relying on these types of new generation facilities to meet surging demand and to keep prices low, as well as increase reliability, it's going to be tough,” said Shane Londigan, a climate and energy senior policy adviser at think tank Third Way. “Those cost increases are going to be felt.”
How tax credits boosted clean energy development in Texas
Texas has long been known for producing oil and gas; it produces more than any other state. But it’s also become a clean energy magnet.
In addition to having ample good places to develop solar and wind projects, the electricity market is deregulated, meaning energy producers compete to provide cheap power. Combined with a relatively quick process to connect to the grid and a simpler permitting regime than other states, Texas set the stage for wind, solar and battery power to succeed.
Wind power began taking off here in the mid-2000s. Solar power started picking up about a decade later. The amount of utility-scale solar farms built in Texas jumped from about 5 gigawatts in 2020 to 27.5 gigawatts by the end of 2024, according to a study from Columbia Business School.
Cheaper and quicker to build than gas-fired plants, Texas’ wind and solar buildout made it the “advanced energy capital of the country,” said Matthew Boms, executive director of the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance.
In 2022, Democrats in Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA — a landmark climate law that expanded tax credits for clean energy companies and consumers alike in an effort to generate more energy, create new jobs in the sector, establish renewables manufacturing in the U.S. and bring down energy costs.
The expanded federal subsidies created all sorts of cost savings, including for manufacturing items like solar panels and electric vehicles, improving home energy efficiency and building an array of clean energy technologies.