Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

 Recently, the city of San Antonio became one of 12 new "Solar America Cities," marked by their commitment to the deployment of solar technologies. The distinction from the Department of Energy comes with technical assistance and a grant of up to $200,000.

The laudable, albeit small, effort by the DOE recognizes that regional commitments make an important difference in propelling solar power toward achieving a scale and affordability that will allow it to replace dirty coal-fired power plants and significantly reduce global warming pollution.

Last week, senators also introduced bipartisan-supported solar legislation co-sponsored by Texas Sens. Cornyn and Hutchison. This legislation, the Clean Energy Stimulus Act of 2008, extends the federal investment tax credit for commercial and residential solar projects to all Americans, and makes electric utilities eligible for these same tax benefits to accelerate growth of the solar industry. Texas has the "right stuff" to become a world solar leader. From chemical companies on the Houston Ship Channel that produce solar-grade silicon, to Central Texas semiconductor manufacturers that produce photovoltaic panels, to rural farmers ready to lease their land to large-scale solar power plants, Texas already has a solid foundation to ride the solar wave. Plus, Texas receives more solar radiation than any other state and is number one in terms of its solar potential. According to the State Energy Conservation Office, the energy from sunshine falling on just one acre of land in West Texas is equal to 800 barrels of oil each year!

Texas is a world leader in the energy industry, but as the rest of the global solar industry is growing at an astounding rate, Texas is starting to fall behind. We can change this.

Last year, the Legislature took an initial step to promote solar across the state by passing a bill to help consumers overcome some of the barriers to installing solar panels on their homes and businesses. The bill by Rep. Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, directs the Public Utilities Commission to implement rules that allow Texans to maximize the benefit from their rooftop solar panels by crediting the value of the solar electricity they produce against their consumption of electricity from the grid with participating utilities. This policy, known as "net metering," is an important cornerstone of solar markets across the United States.

On Wednesday, the PUC took the first steps to set up what will amount to a voluntary program on net metering, leaving it up to individual utilities to decide whether to give consumers a fair deal on the electricity they produce.

When the Legislature meets again in January, they will need to do much more to really jump-start Texas' solar future to bring the new jobs, financial investments and tax revenues generated by the solar economy to our state.

Much as Texas helped launch astronauts to the stars, the Lone Star State can now help capture the power of the sun to revolutionize how we generate our energy.

And there's no time to lose. Other states like California and New Jersey and the nations of Germany, Spain and Japan are far ahead of Texas in creating solar programs, attracting a growing number of investments, jobs and manufacturing plants.

In addition, air pollution and global warming threaten Texans' health and future, and consumers continue to suffer from rising energy costs, especially during the summer.

The Texas Legislature should be bold and create a solar program that will help protect our environment and capture a big piece of solar's growing market share. A small investment now could bring billions in investment to the state over the next decade and help bring clear, blue skies back to Texas.

Luke Metzger is the Director of Environment Texas, a statewide non-profit citizens' advocacy group based in Austin. For more information on Environment Texas' Go Solar campaign, visit www.EnvironmentTexas.org.