The low costs of developing renewable energy infrastructure have allowed Texas to lead the nation in its deployment of clean energy. But soon the cost of doing business with new tariffs and rules might stall the industry’s ability to churn out the cheap power that’s contributed to Texas’ economic growth in recent years, according to developers and experts.
“There’s a lot of concern,” said Doug Lewin, a Texas energy consultant. “I think that that concern is across just about every generation technology, whether it be gas turbines, wind turbines, solar panels, batteries, all of that stuff has global supply chains and large tariffs on that stuff will almost certainly cause power prices to go up.”
The threats set to affect renewable energy players in Texas don’t come solely from the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump that disrupted much of the U.S. economy, but also from rules being decided in the state legislature.
Proposed bills this session aim to burden developers of renewable energy projects by imposing new fees and regulatory requirements that wouldn’t be required of natural gas plants.
One proposed bill would let municipalities and counties ban battery storage facilities located 500 yards from residential developments. Another bill seeks to allow coastal communities the right to ban offshore wind turbines if they violate “pre-established community values” related to shipping routes, tourism and recreational or commercial fishing.
While it’s still early in the legislative session, there’s worry that new policies coupled with new costs from tariffs could spell trouble for Texas’ renewable energy boom as the state races to bring more power online.
On Tariffs
A slew of tariffs will impact the renewable energy industry across various sectors, from imports on transmission and distribution equipment to lithium-ion batteries.
Trump signed executive orders imposing 25 percent tariffs on products from Mexico and Canada, as well as 10 percent duties on Canadian energy in the first weeks of his presidency. Tariffs on most goods from both Mexico and Canada have been pushed back until April 2, after Trump signed executive orders authorizing the pause Thursday. There’s also a 10 percent tariff on all imports from China.
The president also signed two proclamations ending all existing exemptions for tariffs on steel and aluminum and raised the tariff rate on aluminum from 10 percent to 25 percent. Those changes are scheduled to take effect March 12.
Renewable energy developers are no strangers to tariffs. During Trump’s first term in 2018, the U.S. announced 30 percent tariffs on imported solar panels, which came mostly from China. In May 2024, President Joe Biden put new tariffs on electric vehicles and batteries and solar cells imported from China.
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