Institutional Investors Urge Caution as Texas Considers Long-Term Electric Market Design Proposals

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a letter sent today to the Commissioners of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the U.S. Partnership for Renewable Energy Finance (PREF) called for a more thorough analysis of the market design options now under consideration to fully understand their potential impacts on consumers and business investment in the Lone Star State.

The U.S. Partnership for Renewable Energy Finance is an affiliation of leading companies that have invested tens of billions of dollars in energy infrastructure in Texas and are part of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE).

PREF member companies, which include some of the nation’s foremost institutional investors, renewable energy developers and corporate energy offtakers, applauded the Commission’s ongoing work “to address the underlying failures that contributed to the devastation of Winter Storm Uri,” but warned that “hastily adopting a new market structure without proper diligence has the potential to create regulatory uncertainty.”

“Renewable energy development is currently providing more than $270 million in annual state, local and property tax revenues, along with lease payments to farmers, ranchers and other landowners totaling over $140 million,” wrote ACORE President and CEO Gregory Wetstone. “These revenue streams, which help fund school districts and local governments across the state, may be placed at risk by policy proposals whose effects are not yet understood.”

“Given these important considerations and the tremendous economic benefits renewable energy investment brings to Texas, we respectfully urge thoughtful deliberation on long-term market redesign proposals once the system needs driving potential redesign efforts are analyzed and identified. Our member companies are eager to invest in the future of the ERCOT market, and we encourage you to give investors the clarity they need to deploy their resources in Texas,” Wetstone continued.

The renewable energy sector employs tens of thousands of Texans and has generated more than in new investment capital across the Lone Star State.

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About ACORE:
For more than 20 years, the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) has been the nation’s premier pan-renewable nonprofit organization. ACORE unites finance, policy and technology to accelerate the transition to a renewable energy economy. For more information, please visit www.acore.org.

Media Contacts:

Blake McCarren, Communications Manager, ACORE
mccarren@acore.org | 301.661.7375 (c)

Alex Hobson, Vice President of Communications, ACORE
hobson@acore.org | 202.777.7584 (o) | 202.594.0706 (c)