Energy Expert Brian Gitt voiced alarm on Twitter about renewable subsidies mainly helping major banks. Texas has been implementing large amounts of wind and solar projects with significant subsidy funding from the government.
A recent report found that Texas led the United States in adding to its renewable energy generation in 2021. Its 7,352 megawatts (MW) that came online last year far outpaced California’s second-place addition of 2,697 MW.
"Wall Street banks benefit most from wind & solar power. Renewable energy credits provide an $18 BILLION backdoor subsidy & tax shelter for JP Morgan, Bank of America, & other wall street banks," Gitt said in a post to his Twitter account on June 10.
He was referencing an article put out in January of this year that argues that energy subsidies make the price of production for renewable energy look like it is not as much as it actually is. The article also zeroes in on how developers sell their tax credits to banks in exchange for investment in the mandated renewable energy projects. The article states that developers have been upping the amount of wind and solar projects as a result of these regulations and price guarantees from the government.
Gitt also discussed the causes of the recent blackouts in Texas as well as California
“The California and Texas blackouts have multiple contributing factors," Gitt also said, according to a report from the Austin Journal. "But policies that reward unreliable solar and wind power and penalize reliable baseload power are the common factor."
In 2005, the Texas Legislature upped its law for renewable generation and mandated the erection of transmission lines to West Texas to help out wind and solar farms in the area. Those decisions by themselves will cost Texans greater than $13 billion as of the year 2029.