Opinion: How Texas Can Lead a Practical Energy Transition

Texas sits at a crossroads of energy history and future. The state has powered the nation for generations through oil, gas, and wind innovations. Now, as the global energy landscape evolves, Texas has the expertise, infrastructure, and entrepreneurial spirit to lead a pragmatic energy transition that supports workers, strengthens the grid, and preserves rural livelihoods.

Leveraging Existing Strengths

Texas' strengths are clear: a skilled workforce, a transmission network designed for large-scale energy flows, and a regulatory framework that encourages market-driven solutions. These assets should be directed toward a transition strategy that emphasizes:

• Grid modernization: Upgrade transmission for variable renewables and distributed generation.
• Workforce retraining: Convert oil and gas expertise into roles for wind, solar, and battery systems.
• Rural investment: Deploy community solar and storage to bring revenue to rural landowners.

Practical, Not Ideological

Transition strategies must be practical. That means ensuring reliability during extreme weather and maintaining affordable energy. A blend of technologies — renewables, storage, natural gas with carbon mitigation — can deliver both decarbonization and resilience.

Policy Recommendations

• Incentivize storage: Rebates and tax credits for large-scale and distributed battery systems to smooth intermittent generation.
• Support carbon management: Pilot projects for carbon capture where technically and economically viable.
• Coordinate planning: State and federal coordination to fund transmission corridors and rural deployment.

Economic Opportunity

The energy transition is also an economic opportunity. Manufacturing components for solar and storage, building out transmission lines, and retrofitting existing infrastructure create jobs. Importantly, policies should target regions most affected by declines in oil and gas employment to ensure a just transition.

'Energy innovation in Texas will succeed by combining local expertise with bold deployment — not by abandoning the pragmatic approaches that built our energy system.' — Opinion

Final Thoughts

Texas has an opportunity to set an example: a transition that is economically inclusive, technologically savvy, and committed to reliability. If policymakers, industry, and communities work together with a practical mindset, Texas can deliver an energy future that preserves livelihoods while reducing emissions.

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