North Texas officials say the electric grid will not be able to supply the energy required by the state’s industrial growth within the next decade, including in Fort Worth.
U.S. Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, who serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said he’s confident in President Donald Trump’s administration’s ability to shape federal laws on the energy industry.
“Having been up there for almost a year, it really is amazing how we’ve been able to transform policy,” he said.
The North Texas lawmaker was joined by dozens of oil and gas producers at the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers annual conference Nov. 11 in Fort Worth.
Goldman criticized energy officials under former President Joe Biden’s administration for vying to advance wind, solar and renewable energy across the country.
“No offense to wind and solar, because obviously on our grid in Texas, we need wind and solar,” Goldman said.
He pointed to California’s goal to rely solely on wind and solar energy and other forms of clean electricity by 2045 as an inefficient milestone.
“It’s just not going to happen,” he added.
Since taking office, Trump has vowed to roll back environmental regulations to allow for the expansion of energy production, particularly oil and gas. Trump signed an executive order in May to add 10 new large-scale nuclear reactors in the country by 2030.
U.S. Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, spoke about the need for nuclear energy at the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers Nov. 11 conference in Fort Worth. (Nicole Lopez | Fort Worth Report)
Nuclear power plants face opposition much like oil, natural gas and coal do, Goldman said, but small nuclear reactors are more favored by federal officials.
He described small nuclear reactors, particularly the plant headed by Abilene Christian University, as the future of energy.
In August, the U.S. Department of Energy approved the distribution of uranium to fuel ACU’s molten salt reactor, one of three nuclear developers to receive the resource. The university’s research reactor acts as the first use of energy company Natura Resources’ 1-megawatt thermal molten salt reactor system.
North Texas’ growing population as well as more data centers — which require between 3 to 4 megawatts of electricity — are compounding energy needs.
As a result, the region is considered a prospective home for small nuclear facilities.
In support of nuclear research, Texas lawmakers this year approved $120 million to benefit the partnership between Natura Resources and ACU’s energy-dedicated department, Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing Laboratory.
The West Texas nuclear project is the only university-led reactor in the country to receive a construction permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
“We’re not here to supply energy in America. We’re here to supply energy for the world,” Goldman said.
A “really bright future”
Mayor Mattie Parker was one of the last speakers at the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers annual conference Nov. 11 in Fort Worth. (Nicole Lopez | Fort Worth Report)
Mayor Mattie Parker credited oil and gas producers with boosting Fort Worth’s economy.
The energy industry is the face of Fort Worth’s “really bright future,” said Parker.
The number of companies in the city’s energy industry grew by 34% in the last decade, Parker said.
Over 6,000 people in the city are employed through energy companies, the mayor said, and Fort Worth officials expect that number to grow.
North Texas’ success as a regional energy hot spot predates the last decade.
Between 2002 and 2009, Tarrant County experienced an urban boom in natural gas drilling. The Barnett Shale encompasses more than 5,000 square miles of natural gas reserves across 18 counties in North Texas.
The natural gas extracted from North Texas land led to the creation of about 115,000 jobs in 2013. About 4,065 permits were issued to energy producers extracting resources from the Barnett Shale.
Parker vowed to keep Fort Worth moving in a business-focused direction.
The city is home to a “litany of things that would not be possible in the state without the energy industry,” the mayor said.
Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
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