Texas goes green: How oil country became the renewable energy leader — Transcript

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1. 0:01geofof one of the bigg
2. 0:04announcementntat the U.N.
3. 0:05Climate conferenen this weekend
4. 0:06in dubai was a pledgdgby more
5. 0:07than 110 countntes to triple the
6. 0:09amount of F newable energy
7. 0:11they're generating by 2030.0.
8. 0:13As William brangham M ports
9. 0:15at work is already undnd way,
10. 0:18in a state that may susurise
11. 0:19you.
12. 0:20This story is a collababation
13. 0:21withthhe global health repororng
14. 0:22center, withthupport from the
15. 0:23pulitzer center.
16. 0:27William:m: If you hahato guess
17. 0:29whicicstate in America was,,
18. 0:31hands-down, producing G E most
19. 0:34green renewawae energy, what
20. 0:36would you guess?
21. 0:37California?
22. 0:38Massachusetts?
23. 0:40It's tetes.
24. 0:43The state E at epitomizes oil
25. 0:45D gas a a got rich powering
26. 0:48he nation for decadesess now
27. 0:50the biggggesproducer of wind and
28. 0:51solar.
29. 0:54So how D D deep-red Texas turn
30. 0:55so green??
31. 0:56Michael: It'not unusual for
32. 0:57Texas to do all L E right things
33. 0:59for all ththwrong reasons, and
34. 1:01the rise of renewablbl is one of
35. 1:03those exampleses
36. 1:03William: Michael Webber studieie
37. 1:07the energy transitioioat the
38. 1:07univivsity of Texas and is
39. 1:08author of "Powow trip: The story
40. 1:09of energy."
41. 1:10Michael: W wdidn't do it for R E
42. 1:13cleanlinins, we didn't do I for
43. 1:14climatatchange.
44. 1:15We did it bebeuse it makes us a
45. 1:15lot of money fororhe landowners,
46. 1:16and saves us a lot O money for
47. 1:18the consumers.
48. 1:19William:m: O O study found that
49. 1:21L this cheap renewablelenergy
50. 1:22is savininthe average Texas
51. 1:23household almostst00 dollars a
52. 1:24year.
53. 1:27Though skeptpts say that figure
54. 1:27may be inflated.d.
55. 1:31There are a a ew of factors that
56. 1:31contributed to T ts boom.
57. 1:33Texas's gegeraphy is one.
58. 1:36Rorominter works for the E ergy
59. 1:39company engigi which has major
60. 1:40reneneble projects across thth
61. 1:41stste.
62. 1:43Rob: It's S big state.
63. 1:47There are a loloof areas where
64. 1:47it's sunny and D 'S windy and in
65. 1:49the wide open N aces of west
66. 1:51Texas and soututtexas, there are
67. 1:51some wonderful arere for
68. 1:52develoloent of renewable
69. 1:55resources.
70. 1:57William: Texas H H also had its
71. 1:59share of influlutial oil-men who
72. 2:00saw the lighghon renewables.
73. 2:03People like bibiionaire T. Boone
74. 2:03Pickens.
75. 2:06>> Lower electric rates for
76. 2:10people across S E spectrum.
77. 2:11William: T TRE's even one whoho
78. 2:13became governor.
79. 2:17In 19999 then governor George E
80. 2:18bush workiki with a democratic
81. 2:20, legisisture signed a law
82. 2:23deregegating texas''s power
83. 2:26rket to make it more
84. 2:27competitive, and E ehrined a
85. 2:28stste mandate for wind powow.
86. 2:30Emily: He wanand to support wind
87. 2:32power.
88. 2:33William: Emily foxhall covers
89. 2:35the energy indususy for the
90. 2:36tetes tribune.
91. 2:37Ily: There were landowowrs who
92. 2:38were willing to lease E eir land
93. 2:39fofothese new industries..
94. 2:40William: T Tse newfangled
95. 2:43industries.
96. 2:43Emily: Yeah, it wawaa new way
97. 2:44for thememo make money when
98. 2:45perhaps they wererstruggling to
99. 2:46do so with agricultutu.
100. 2:49Michael: Texex had a mandate
101. 2:51before England, bebere
102. 2:51californrn, before New York --
103. 2:54list all T Tse liberal economies
104. 2:55and Texas had D renewables
105. 2:57mandate before them.m.
106. 2:58William: Today, , E lone star
107. 3:00state gegerates more megawatts
108. 3:01of wind D WER than any other inn
109. 3:03the nation.
110. 3:05When it T mes to solar, Texas
111. 3:06trails only californrn and
112. 3:07actualal ranks first in
113. 3:09utiilty-scale solar prprects.
114. 3:15Combined with nuclear, Texas nono
115. 3:17gegerates almost 40% of itit
116. 3:17total enerer needs from
117. 3:19carbon frere sources, a hugege
118. 3:22surge in J jt a few years time.
119. 3:26Texas, like so mananother parts
120. 3:28of the cououry, has suffered
121. 3:29through a string O O
122. 3:31climate releled disasters.
123. 3:32They had recororbreaking heat
124. 3:33waves over the summeme and this
125. 3:34area is alwawa under threat of
126. 3:35hurricanes..
127. 3:37Six yearss ago when I was S re
128. 3:38for hurrrrane Harvey, this
129. 3:40entire area wawaunderwater.
130. 3:43Emily: The interestiti piece
131. 3:45re is climate change I the
132. 3:46context through whicicwe should
133. 3:48be talking a AUT all of this.
134. 3:51Like the reason we H he this
135. 3:53renewablblpower coming onto thee
136. 3:54grid is becacae, in order to
137. 3:55slow climate change,e,e have to
138. 3:55ow carbon emissions.
139. 3:58But ininhe Texas legislature,,
140. 3:59you rerely don't hear clilite
141. 4:03chchge coming up.
142. 4:03William: In fact, tetes's
143. 4:06renewawae boom isn't alwawa
144. 4:07being celeleated.
145. 4:10During 2020's paralyzing wintete
146. 4:11storm in T tas, which caused
147. 4:12widespread blackouou and left
148. 4:166 people dead, renewables were
149. 4:19falsely blamed fororaking things
150. 4:19worse.
151. 4:20Goveveor Greg abbot had thisiso
152. 4:21sasa
153. 4:25V. At it: -- Governoror abbotot
154. 4:30R wind and our solar G G shut
155. 4:32down and that ththst Texas into
156. 4:33this situatiti where it was
157. 4:35lacking power at a atatewide
158. 4:38basis.
159. 4:38This shows how the G gen new
160. 4:39Dede would be a deadly deaeafor
161. 4:42the united states.
162. 4:42Willllm: But a S ssequent
163. 4:44analysis S Swed it was
164. 4:45un-winterized fossil F fl plants
165. 4:46principally natural gaga
166. 4:47at were responsible fofomost
167. 4:48of the blackouts.
168. 4:49Michael: The biggest failurereas
169. 4:52by far the gas system.m.
170. 4:52So about 85% O the gas
171. 4:53production in weststexas froze
172. 4:55about 50% statewide..
173. 4:55William: In this year's
174. 4:58legislative sessisi, Republican
175. 5:01legislators -- M my with the
176. 5:02port of the fossil fufu
177. 5:03industry - -introduced a slew of
178. 5:03anti-renewableleills.
179. 5:04Including a new W X on owners of
180. 5:06electric cars.
181. 5:07Michael: I havavto pay a $200
182. 5:10nual fee in Texas to R Rister
183. 5:11thisisar.
184. 5:12I'subsidizing gasoline a a
185. 5:13dieses drivers around the stste.
186. 5:16The focus S S on how to punish
187. 5:19renewables, how to pununh wind
188. 5:21and solar.
189. 5:21The grid needsdso be reliable,
190. 5:22wind and solar are N N reliable,
191. 5:22goes the story, thererere we
192. 5:23needed punish wind and solala
193. 5:26wiwiiam: But in a surprisisi
194. 5:27turn, alalst none of the
195. 5:28anti-renewableleills passed and
196. 5:29made it to governonoabbot' S
197. 5:30desk.
198. 5:31Proooo Michael Webber says, , at
199. 5:31green enengy in Texas has becomeme
200. 5:33more or less P pitically
201. 5:33bubuetproof.
202. 5:36Michael: Urban Democrats like itit
203. 5:41bebeuse it's clean ananrenewable
204. 5:42D the rural republicananlike
205. 5:43it bececse it's good for
206. 5:43economic develelment.
207. 5:44Lliam: The Texas clean energy
208. 5:47om is also being driveveby its
209. 5:47readadmade army of workers a a
210. 5:48trepreneurs coming dirirtly
211. 5:49out of the oililnd gas industry.
212. 5:55Tim M timer is the CEO of thth
213. 5:56geothermal company F fvo energy
214. 6:00geothermal energy cocos from
215. 6:01drililng underground to tap P E
216. 6:03heatatelow the Earth'ss surface
217. 6:05to S sn electrical turbines.s.
218. 6:06Tim: And because we'rereot
219. 6:09burning anything O ocombusting
220. 6:10anything, we' just using the
221. 6:13naturaraheat of the Earth, whaha
222. 6:13we can do O produce electricity
223. 6:15arouou the clock, 24/7, and D
224. 6:16so without C cbon emissions.
225. 6:20William:m:t is an ironinitwist.
226. 6:23Today's advanced geotheheal
227. 6:24would not be pososble without
228. 6:25the drilling and frackckg
229. 6:27technololo developop for natural
230. 6:29gas.
231. 6:30M: When I startrt over a
232. 6:33dedede ago --
233. 6:34william:m: Latimer, like so mama
234. 6:38within the texex larger
235. 6:39renewablblindustry, started hiss
236. 6:40career in N ssil fuels.
237. 6:42Tim: What weweee as time goes on
238. 6:45is people E ve realized that
239. 6:46climate change isns't a far off
240. 6:47problem.
241. 6:47Theye're still passionatatabout
242. 6:49prpriding affordable energrgto
243. 6:50the worlrl but the priorities
244. 6:51shift a littleleit because of
245. 6:52how urgent the climama crisis
246. 6:54is.
247. 6:54Anani think there's a a T of
248. 6:56people who have madedehat
249. 6:59realization J jt like I have.
250. 7:00William: None of this meananthat
251. 7:02Texas has turned its B bk on
252. 7:05fossil fueue.
253. 7:06Is still, by Y R, the
254. 7:08national leader in oil
255. 7:10productiti and natural gas
256. 7:11production.
257. 7:12This is ththessential challenge
258. 7:13for the negotitiors gathered in
259. 7:15dubai -- H H quickly can the
260. 7:17world's powers S sft this
261. 7:18babance and transition as S St
262. 7:20as Texas if not faster?
263. 7:24For the pbpbnewshour, am
264. 7:26williaia B bngham.
265. 7:27♪♪