It’s not every day that elected state representatives, regulators, present and former elected statewide officials, industry leaders and a former U.S. Secretary of Energy agree on something.
But last week in San Angelo that’s exactly what attendees of the West Texas Legislative Summit heard. And it wasn’t just on one major issue. The Summit, sponsored by the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce, is held a few months before the Legislature meets in Austin.
The Abilene Chamber of Commerce was well represented at the Summit with attendees:
· Shaun Martin, Chair of the Chamber’s Abilene Regional Growth Alliance,
· Greg Blair and Gray Bridwell of the Chamber’s Military Affairs Committee,
· Doug Williamson, Director of Governmental Affairs for the Chamber,
· and numerous representatives from Chamber-member organizations.
The issues discussed were on topics expected to be highlights of the legislative session beginning in January. There were two that really seemed to draw the most attention – energy and water.
ENERGY
The results of winter storm Uri two and a half years ago remain top-of-mind for many Texans. It showed the need for additional energy production sources.
Many of the panelists brought up the need for something like Abilene Christian University’s molten salt reactor project. Several said they had toured the facility on the ACU campus and encouraged others to do so. Such reactors could be clean, safe and reliable sources of energy for the grid.
“(The) molten salt (reactor) has me really excited,” said Commissioner Jimmy Glofelty, of the Texas Public Utility Commission. “The need and the draw are immense.”
Geothermal energy sits 3-4 miles under the surface of Texas land, especially in the Eagle Ford Shale formation in South Texas. Not only can the heat generated within the earth be used for energy, but geothermal wells can be used for energy storage.
WATER
State Sen. Charles Perry of Lubbock opened many eyes in the room when he noted that the State Water Plan calls for about a 30% reduction in agricultural production to reduce the amount of water needed in the state by 2070. The only other way to offset that annual 2.3 million acre-feet deficit would be to have new water supply sources.
Panelists discussed a variety of ways to meet the future water needs. Among those were:
· Desalination of water.
· Additional above-ground sources of water.
· More research and treatment of “produced water” (water that comes to the surface during oil and gas production.
Other panels dealt with Cybersecurity and AI, Border Issues, Mental Health in West Texas and the Legislature and the Media.
Former Texas Gov., and former U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry was the keynote speaker.