Industry Group Study Finds Restricting Solar and Wind Could Add 6% to U.S. Electricity Prices

The piece, written by Rich Powell of the Corporate Energy Buyers Association, argued that regulatory barriers preventing deployment of solar and wind energy are a primary driver of rising electricity costs for American households and businesses. Powell called for "technology-neutral" permitting reforms that would allow all energy sources — including fossil fuels, solar, wind, and advanced technologies — to compete in the marketplace without artificial constraints.

The CEBA-commissioned NERA analysis modeled electricity and natural gas price impacts under scenarios where new solar and wind resources face deployment restrictions. The study found that the average U.S. electricity price could be more than 6% higher over a seven-year period, which Powell described as effectively adding an extra year of inflation to electricity bills. Economy-wide costs were projected at more than $121 billion between 2027 and 2033.

Texas was identified as the region facing the steepest potential increase. Households served by the state's grid operator could see electricity prices rise by more than 22% over the same period if new solar and wind resources are unable to compete — the largest projected increase among the regions studied, according to the NERA model.