A new report calls for reliable, more traditional energy sources versus renewable energy in Texas to keep up with the increased demand for electricity as the state continues to grow.

While renewable energy has gained popularity in investment, some say Texas is taking the leap too rapidly. 

The conservative-leaning Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) reported in April that following the February blackouts it has become clear that Texas should not force its citizens to bear the financial burden of intermittency costs of wind and solar generation.

“Wind and solar can’t be counted on to provide enough electricity when needed most because their output varies with the weather, not with demand,” the TPPF report stated. 

According to the TPPF, the February grid crisis in Texas was caused by a variety of renewable energy-related factors, including decades of multibillion-dollar subsidies for wind and solar energy that make it difficult for reliable power plants to compete; no requirement for wind and solar to bear any intermittency costs they impose on the rest of the grid, and the inability of scarcity pricing and limited ancillary services to counterbalance the 50% variability of wind and solar reliability when they are most demanded.

The TPPF's Brent Bennett recommends that Texas prioritizes reliable energy above renewable energy to make sure “California-style blackouts don’t become the norm."

Analysis by TPPF's Chuck DeVore shows that subsidies in the form of federal tax credits and state property tax abatements have significantly distorted the electricity market in Texas to the point where "wind generators, some owned by foreign governments, can pay the grid to take their power and still make money." 

A study from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago found that rates for electricity bills increased 11% when renewable energy sources increased by 1.8%. Prices increased 17% while the renewable share increased 4.2%. 

The study concluded that the higher costs of renewable energy will be assigned to the ratepayers. 

Over the past decade, subsidies have played a key role in the expansion of intermittent wind and solar capacity at the expense of more reliable thermal generation. ERCOT data indicates that wind has leapfrogged coal and nuclear, while solar has more than tripled capacity in that time period

According to the Houston Republic, the recent winter storms that battered Texas and left millions of residents without power has made the future of the state's wind-energy industry uncertain. They note that the storms exposed the danger of energy policies that make the state too dependent on wind and solar energy. 

The extreme cold and snow caused wind turbines to freeze, leading to power outages across the state during a time of overwhelming demand for energy.

Studies after the grid crisis showed that less renewable energy sources account for less than one-third of Texas' power demands.