By Jordyn Johnson

Ms. Johnson graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2010 with a B.A. in Government. This summer, she is interning at the Texas Advocacy Project and with Judge Lawrence Meyers at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. She expects to receive her J.D. from the Texas School of Law in May 2013.

Just over a decade after the Texas legislature jump-started the state’s wind energy industry in 1999, Texas has become the top-producing state for wind-generated electricity. The legislature is now considering a bill that would serve to stimulate other renewable energy sources, including solar energy, with similar subsidization. Although a recent study lists Texas as the 10th-largest solar energy market in the U.S., the study also observed that while interest in solar energy is rising, the incentives for promotion of solar energy are not growing at the same rate. While the drive for solar energy use is fairly high at the individual residential level, the lack of a statewide program has caused Texas to fall behind its renewable energy sister states. A goal of the proposed legislation is to provide incentives for energy companies similar to those offered by states such as California and New Mexico. View full article »