The End of the Residential Solar Tax Credit—and the Path Forward
By Patrice “Pete” Parsons, TXSES Executive Director When Congress and the president cut the 30% residential solar tax credit last July—ending it ten years ahead of schedule—it sent shockwaves through the solar industry. Homeowners and installers alike have been racing to get systems energized before December 31st, knowing it’s their last chance to claim the […]
Industry Spotlight: SolarAPP Foundation
In each Solar Report newsletter, we feature one of our highly regarded Platinum Business Members with an exclusive interview. This month, TXSES Communications Director Tamara Kowalski reached out to new Platinum Business Members SolarAPP Foundation and Head of Marketing Amanda Brodbaek to learn about the company’s history, mission, accomplishments, and impacts on customers. Please tell us about the SolarAPP Foundation’s […]
TXSES on Turning 50: Recent Wins & Moving Forward
By Patrice “Pete” Parsons, TXSES Executive Director I hope you all have had a great summer. Although this summer has not been quite as hot as the last few, it’s still plenty darn hot and we have still been seeing a sharp pull on the Texas grid because of it. Despite the power drain caused […]
Solar Plus Batteries Save the Texas Grid. Again.
By Dr. Ariane Beck, TXSES Board Chair & Research Fellow in Energy Systems Transformation at University of Texas at Austin This summer, warnings of a potential grid outage have been noticeably absent. There has been no fretting or hand wringing. When a significant amount coal capacity unexpectedly went offline, solar, wind and storage stepped up […]
Industry Spotlight: Mission Solar
In each Solar Report newsletter, we feature one of our highly regarded Platinum Business Members with an exclusive interview. This month, TXSES Communications Director Tamara Kowalski reached out to Mission Solar President Sam Martens to learn about the company’s mission, accomplishments, and impacts on customers. Origins and Leadership Mission Solar was founded in San Antonio over a decade ago to bring […]
The ‘big, beautiful bill’ undercut rural energy projects. Texas must step up. (Op-Ed)
Rural communities didn’t get into renewables for politics. They did it because it worked. They need stability, not sudden rollbacks. By Raina Tillman Hornaday, TXSES Board MemberAustin American-Statesman Guest ColumnistAug 8, 2025Read it in the Austin American-Statesman. The recently passed “big, beautiful bill” was marketed as a cost-cutting win. While that may be true for some […]
Sine Die Approaches: A Mixed Bag for Solar
By Pete Parsons, TXSES Executive Director. Sine die is fast approaching, marking the close of the 89th Texas Legislative Session on June 2nd, and as far as I am concerned, it can’t come soon enough. I recently heard a statistic that I found gob smacking: Texas’s predicted peak power demand of nearly 218 gigawatts by […]
SB 819: A Threat to Renewables and Texans
By Elle Nicholson. A multitude of energy-related bills have been filed in the 89th Texas Legislative Session, but one particular bill has gained notoriety rarely seen amongst energy bills. Senator Lois Kolkhorst’s Senate Bill 819 has triggered significant backlash from a variety of opponents due to the widespread negative consequences it would have for the […]
Harvesting the Sun Twice: Agrivoltaics in Texas
By Raina Hornaday. Agrivoltaics—the practice of using land for both solar energy generation and agricultural production—is gaining momentum in Texas as a win-win strategy for sustainable development. As the Lone Star State grapples with rapid population growth, rising energy demand, and the ongoing loss of farmland, agrivoltaics presents a compelling vision: why choose between solar […]
Industry Spotlight: Big Sun Solar
In each Solar Report newsletter, we feature one of our highly regarded Platinum Business Members with an exclusive interview. This month, TXSES Communications Director Tamara Kowalski reached out to Big Sun Solar‘s Co-founder and President Jason Pittman to learn about the company’s mission, accomplishments, and impacts on customers. Origins and Leadership Big Sun Solar was founded in San Antonio with […]