Growing the New Energy Economy in Texas: Renewable Energy Industry and Workforce Development Assessment
Because of explosive growth in the renewable energy and green building sector, continued volatility in energy prices, and overwhelming business and natural resources assets, the State of Texas has a strong business case for developing the renewable energy industry to become a job-creation engine of the state’s economy. Texas has created markets for renewable energy companies with aggressive public policy goals for renewable energy generation, supported these markets with transparent and predictable regulations for installation and grid connection, and in less than ten years has moved from a state with virtually no developed renewable energy to a world leader in wind power production.
With its highly-developed traditional energy industry and related high-tech clusters, significant renewable natural resources, and in its role as one of the largest drivers of economic growth in the U.S., the State of Texas has a natural competitive edge in the renewable energy industry. Yet growth in this industry has underperformed Texas’s assets. With the emerging nature of the renewable energy industry, there have been only the beginnings of a coordinated effort to support industrial development through economic development incentives, local market creation, and workforce development efforts.
