Expert predicts 'nearly $400 billion of debt and approximately 467,000 job losses' for Texas as a result of Green New Deal

Experts are explaining how the Green New Deal section of the Biden administration's proposed Build Back Better plan could potentially increase energy costs for the average Texas consumer. 

Last September, Democrats from the House of Representatives unveiled their proposed $150 billion payment program as a part of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better package, according to Reuters. The initiative seeks to reduce and eventually eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector. Under the program, utilities that increase production of clean power including solar, hydroelectric and wind by at least 4% would be rewarded and companies not pursuing clean energy would receive a $40 penalty per megawatt hour per month. 

Houston Daily reported that Vance Ginn of the Texas Public Policy Foundation said that nationally, the Build Back Better plan would decrease real income for households by $12,000 over the next decade. Vance also said that Texas is expected to be responsible for nearly $400 billion of the debt created by the Build Back Better plan and estimates approximately 467,000 job losses as a result of the Green New Deal.

Experts across the U.S. say that the drive for clean energy could lead to increased costs for American consumers. The Biden administration's proposed budget for fiscal year 2022 slots government spending to nearly $2 trillion more than collected in taxes. Antony Davies, distinguished fellow for the Foundation for Economic Education and associate professor of economics at Duquesne University, recently told Peach Tree Times that this level of spending is harmful to the consumer by raising prices. 

"To finance these deficits, the government is increasingly relying on loans from the Federal Reserve," Davies said. "When the Federal Reserve loans to the government, the money supply increases, and that puts upward pressure on prices." 

Those rising prices have been directly impacting what households need to spend on energy, as energy costs nationwide are up 24.8% over the last 12 months.

According to Pittsburgh Works, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a plan similar in structure to the Green New Deal, has been adopted by some states in the Northeast U.S. and the average price of electricity in those states skyrocketed as a result of penalties being applied for every ton of carbon produced using fossil fuels. Not only did prices increase, but the four highest energy prices by state and 10 of the top 13 are members of the RGGI.

Research published in 2019 by Philip Rossetti, former director of Energy Policy at the American Action Forum, discussed what it would cost to go 100% renewable. The cost required to hit the Green New Deal’s goal would cost an estimated $423.9 billion annually, under what Rossetti calls "extremely favorable assumptions." 

Rossetti’s research also touched on an analysis from Jessie Jenkins prepared for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The analysis shows that a 100% renewable energy grid would translate into a cost increase of 43% and 286% for consumers. Additionally, the bill to implement the storage necessary for a completely renewable-powered grid would come in at nearly $2 trillion, not including the cost that would be incurred to maintain a system of that magnitude. 

A column published by Americans for Prosperity brought to light some facts about the Build Back Better package. It cites evidence from an analysis of the House Ways and Means Committee proposal that Americans earning as low as $30,000 could see higher tax rates as well as small businesses.