Renewable energy and battery storage development generate tens of billions of dollars in tax revenue and landowner payments, 60 percent of which benefits rural counties, according to a report released by the Texas Association of Business (TAB).

“Renewable energy increases reliability and creates long-term revenue streams for communities — especially in rural Texas,” said TAB CEO Glenn Hamer. “This report underlines the economic case for welcoming renewable energy projects to Texas.”

The report, titled “The Economic Impact of Renewable Energy and Energy Storage in Rural Texas,” was authored by Dr. Joshua Rhodes, Chief Technology Officer of IdeaSmiths LLC and a Research Scientist at The University of Texas at Austin. It shows that:

• Over their lifetime, Texas’ current fleet of utility-scale wind, solar, and energy storage projects will generate an estimated $7.2 billion–$8.8 billion in new tax revenue for local communities.

• Existing and planned utility-scale wind, solar, and energy storage projects will pay between $12.5 billion and $15.9 billion in total tax revenue over their lifetimes, 60 percent of which is paid to rural counties (assuming projects that currently have interconnection agreements with ERCOT to connect with Texas’ grid are built).

• Existing utility-scale wind, solar and energy storage projects will pay Texas landowners an estimated $7.1billion–$11.3 billion over the projects’ lifetimes.

• Texas landowners will directly receive $11.8 billion–$21.7 billion from existing and planned (with signed interconnection agreements) projects over the projects’ lifetimes.

• A single 100 MW solar project built in a Texas county would pay $9.4 million–$13.1 million to support local schools, law enforcement, and other services through lifetime taxes (including school taxes). Similarly, a 100 MW wind project would create $16.8 million–$20.3 million, and a 100 MW energy storage project would create $3.8 million–$4.7 million, in added tax base.

• Over its lifetime, a 100 MW wind farm would pay a Texas landowner about $16.2 million–$33 million, depending on length of contract and location in the state, while the projected range for a solar project is $5.2 million–$27.7 million. A 100 MW energy storage project would yield about $260,000–$1.2 million in landowner payments, but much less land is needed for storage projects than for wind or solar farms.

Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation, the Advanced Power Alliance, and the Texas Association of Business jointly funded the report.

TAB is the Texas State Chamber, representing companies of every size and industry. The Association’s purpose is to champion the best business climate in the world, unleashing the power of free enterprise to enhance lives for generations. Follow TAB on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.