The Shift to Renewable Energy Sources Rough Draft
When running for office, Former President Donald Trump promised to defend oil and gas jobs in a time where many are calling for reduced carbon emissions, garnering him a lot of support from those working in fossil fuels (Domonoske). Trump acted upon this promise during his term in office by pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords. Mayors across the country, including Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston, vowed to keep the Accords and implement a Climate Action Plan (Rotter). And according to Paper City Mag, now “The City of Houston sources 92% of its power from solar and wind energy” (Rotter). There has been pushback against Mayor Turner’s embrace of renewable energy because he is turning away from what powers Houston’s economy. With many cities following suit and the increased consumer use of renewable energy, the need for fossil fuels across the country is dwindling. We need renewable energy in order to prevent a large variety of consequences that will result from increased pollution caused by fossil fuels.
The pushback against Mayor Turner’s embrace of renewable energy is because fossil fuels are a large portion of the economy and create a large variety of jobs across the globe. I live and grew up in Houston, Texas, which is considered the world’s energy capital. I know so many people who work in oil or for energy companies. Throughout Houston, the influence of fossil fuel companies is extremely apparent. Because of this, Houstonians worry that the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources poses a threat to their livelihoods. Many politicians have exacerbated this fear by calling climate action dangerous to the industry that is a large part of Texas’ economy, which they assert would result in the loss of so many jobs. While the shift to renewable energy will result in the loss of some jobs in fossil fuels, there will be a creation of many better jobs in renewable energy, and Houston’s economic landscape will remain relatively unaffected.
I think it is first important to understand why Houston is the energy capital of the world in order to understand the fear of a shift to renewable energy. Houston is located 50 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, and before the discovery of oil in Texas, 17 railroads converged in Houston (WWPP). This was extremely important once oil was discovered in Texas because it allows for extreme ease of transportation of oil across the United States and the World. Once oil was discovered in Texas, The Texas Company (now known as Texaco) was offered a cheap price for an office building in Houston and many companies followed them there (WWPP). Houston remains such a powerhouse in energy because the environment created by a high concentration of companies in a small area allows for an easy flow in business (WWPP). This environment keeps existing energy businesses in Houston and attracts emerging businesses across the globe to have offices in Houston.
The business environment for oil and gas companies created in Houston has generated lucrative amounts of money that has a hold on a large share of Houston and Texas’s economy. Oil and gas is economically lucrative on its own, but in order to understand the full scope of how much it is generating for the economy, the money and jobs generated from pipelines, equipment manufacturing, engineering, and induced impacts factored in. Induced impacts include things like “an interior decorator in Houston who is hired by an oil and gas employee” (Mulder). When all things are considered, the oil and gas industry accounted for 30.5% of Texas’ gross state product in the beginning of 2020, which includes a factor of 2.3 for induced economic impact (Mulder). In Houston, it is projected that “energy likely accounted for around 25 percent of GDP in ’18” (GHP). So since Houston’s initial economic success was built upon oil and natural gas, and the continued economic reliance of Houston and Texas on oil and gas, the move from fossil fuels to renewable energy for some feels like the removal of a cornerstone that could crumble the city. This feared collapse would theoretically lead to the loss of thousands of jobs in Houston, which could uproot communities and create an exodus of workers to more economically viable cities.
However, oil jobs are already very unstable compared to renewable energy jobs, and renewable energy will create millions of more stable jobs in Texas as Texas’ landscape is prime for developments in renewable energy. Because oil is so lucrative they are able to employ large numbers of people for higher wages but these jobs are volatile. The number of oil jobs often follows boom and bust cycles based on the price of oil, leading to cycling rounds of layoffs. In an interview with NPR, Daimon Rhea, an oil worker, felt like his “life depended on how much that barrel cost” (Domonoske). Petroleum jobs do pay 40% more than the national median (2020 U.S. Energy & Employment Report) which is more attractive when compared to 25% above average clean energy boasts (Muro Et. Al). But according to labor economist Julia Pollack, clean energy jobs are more stable than oil jobs, following a linear positive trend rather than the fluctuations that characterized oil jobs (Domonoske). This stability and the feeling that working for clean energy is working to save the planet for future generations has attracted some workers, but still so many remain not convinced to work in renewable energy.
Because there has been so much campaigning against renewable energy, fossil fuel workers reject working for renewables, and Houstonans as well as people across the world are apprehensive to make the switch. Most recently, a large amount of false information was disseminated following the winter freeze on Valentines Day in Texas which left many, myself included, without power for days and caused multiple deaths. Tucker Carlson asserted “renewables were to blame” for the power outages, and Texas’ agricultural commissioner claimed “the experiment failed big time” when referring to Texas’ use of wind turbines (Farrer). However, according to a press conference from ERCOT, which operates Texas’ power grid, “failures in natural gas, coal and nuclear energy systems were responsible for nearly twice as many outages as renewables” (Farrer). With an event as devastating as the winter freeze, capitalizing on the fear is easy and placing the blame on something new is a big target.
Additionally, a lot of the resistance from fossil fuel workers is fueled by the negative way certain politicians have framed many political actions on climate change. There’s also a lot of money coming from the oil and gas sector going to campaign contributions for Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Texas senators, and House representatives in Houston in order to keep things the way they are. Republican Governor Abbott has taken over $21 million in donations from Oil & Gas. Houston Representative Lizzie Fletcher, a democrat, was the 2nd highest recipient of campaign contributions from Natural Gas transmission and distribution in the House of representatives, Republican representative Dan Crenshaw, the 3rd highest. Both Senator Ted Cruz and Senator John Cornyn have received over a million from oil and gas. No matter the party affiliation, oil and gas has donated to keep things the way they are. The rhetoric these Texas politicians push reflects these large donations. Governor Abbott called an executive order from President Biden that would freeze oil and gas leases on public lands a “hostile attack” on the oil and gas industry despite public property rarely being used for drilling (Natario). However, Governor Abbott raised a good point in the same press conference when he said that we can not assume fossil fuel workers can be retrained overnight to work in another part of the energy sector if they lose their jobs (Natario). Some skills do translate while others do not. So there must be a way to make that transition for workers smoother.
Thankfully there are already companies paving the way for programs that can help ex-fossil fuel workers find jobs. Companies like Workrise are working to find jobs in renewables for skilled workers in the oil and gas industry when they lose their jobs (Saul). Workrise also handles payroll and benefits for the workers, and in 2020 was able to find clean energy jobs such as building solar farms or fixing wind turbines for 4,500 workers (Saul). Still, there is a gap in pay between workers in fossil fuels and renewable energy. Workers can expect to make around $50,000 installing solar panels but $10,000 to $20,000 more in a similar fossil fuel construction job (Saul). This is where the Texas and United States government needs to step in. Subsidies for renewable energy companies or benefits for workers in renewable energy could attract workers more and make the transition from fossil fuels easier.
It is actually risky for Houston’s economy to continue to rely on fossil fuels. Houston’s economy is not diversified enough to withstand a collapse in oil prices, a threat that is looming due to competition from OPEC (Mintz). The Greater Houston Partnership estimated one-third of the GDP for the Houston area is directly tied to oil (Klump). In May of 2020, Saudi Arabia flooded the market with oil in an attempt to undercut Russia, which severely dropped oil prices, oil companies’ revenues, and their employee numbers (Mintz). Another crash could be catastrophic for Houston and oil workers, far more catastrophic than the adoption of renewable energy. And, by switching to renewable energy, we would be saving Houston’s economy by investing in an industry that is forecasted to be more important in the future. Houston is prime to support a shift to renewables because, according to writer Evan Mintz, “Texas is blessed with plenty of sun and wind and the nation’s only statewide energy grid, and Houston is filled with expertise on the business side of energy” (Mintz).
So not only is this shift to renewable energy inevitable, it is necessary. The decreasing supply of fossil fuels is inevitable, so it is important that more companies like Workrise are created rather than getting mad at the change. As Damien Rhea in his interview with NPR also said that his former colleagues in the oil and gas industry who are mad at renewable energy are like “they’re mailmen getting mad at email, times are changing. You have to adapt” (Domonoske).
One evidence of this change is oil and gas giant BP shifting to renewable energy. BP has noticed this change in the world and realized that renewable energy is the way of the future. It’s not just a decision for bettering the planet but also a business decision, “it is making a business wager that low-carbon energy will be a huge part of the world’s future” (Mufson). In order to make this transition BP is investing in renewable energy projects like offshore wind power, solar and battery storage, and electric car charging kiosks (Mufson). Massive companies like BP shifting to renewable energy will be extremely important to the transition from fossil fuels because of the resources they have. These companies have the money to support job retraining and to undertake large and difficult projects that no start up company can do. With large companies turning to fossil fuels and other companies working to find jobs for oil and gas workers, the transition seems more and more possible. But how can Houston carry out the transition? What will it look like once it’s all said and done?
Thankfully we can take out a lot of the guesswork out by examining the transitions that other countries underwent. By looking at these countries, we can find out why they made certain decisions and determine whether these decisions will work for Houston. For example, Iceland transitioned from being reliant on imported fossil fuels to deriving nearly 100% of its electricity from renewable sources (Logadóttir).The transition began with innovation and exploration in renewable energy by local entrepreneurs who found ways to utilize the abundant geothermal energy present in Iceland. Shortly after, Iceland’s government created incentives like their geothermal drilling mitigation fund which made it more economically viable and less of a risk to explore and use renewable energy (Logadóttir). Iceland also developed hydroelectric power at a large scale (Logadóttir). It could be argued that Iceland’s transition is a rare case due to the abundance of geothermal energy and could not be comparable to Houston. However, Houston is surrounded by large open land that could be utilized for wind power and is very close to the Gulf of Mexico which has the potential to generate wind and hydroelectric power. The economic incentives and policies that Iceland enacted can be used as a road map for Houston and Texas to begin the transition and make it a reality.
Houston has experienced a wealth of climate disasters in recent history. From Hurricane Harvey to the Winter Freeze of 2021, and at this rate of climate change they are predicted to get worse. This fact, along with the economic benefits seen from switching to renewable energy, have led to increased support of renewable energy across Texas. Currently 67% of Texas voters support development of renewable energy sources despite the detractors and dissemination of misinformation about renewables. Houston is not alone, across the globe natural disasters seem to be getting more severe and the push for renewable energy is becoming stronger. The shift is possible and could become a reality if Texas can enact policies to incentivize the change.
