San Angelo Chamber is Advancing a New Energy Economy in Texas

Michael Looney, vice president of economic development at the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce, and his leadership team recruited multiple 200-400 MW energy projects to the region surrounding the West Texas city of approximately 100,000 residents. 

“The chamber wanted to explore ways we could encourage and directly support the development of renewable energy production facilities that would bolster our economy, create new kinds of technical career opportunities, and allow our county to participate in the provision of electrical energy to the Texas power grid,” said Looney.

In 2015, Looney and his chamber team embarked on achieving two priority goals:

1.  To diversify the San Angelo economy into clean energy development and position the San Angelo Chamber as a national leader in that sector.

2.  Equally important: To lead this new initiative with transparency and open communication, provide the community with reliable information.  

Looney and his team successfully recruited 1.2 GW of electric generation within the San Angelo and Tom Green County borders, accomplishing the chamber’s economic and job creation goals. These projects include four utility-scale solar power plants and one 200-MW battery energy storage system.

San Angelo Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Economic Development Michael Looney on Capitol Hill

“We believe the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce has become one of the strongest proponents of clean energy development in the United States. The chamber is now a catalyst and headquarters for renewable energy development, not just in our county, but across a five-county region known geographically as the Concho Valley,” Looney said. “We have led by example. We have attracted renewable energy developments in wind, solar, and battery energy storage from Canada, the United States, Israel and South Korea. Our clean energy initiatives have successfully complemented our thriving oil and natural gas development services sectors as well. At all levels, our renewable and O&G companies work well together in the area, and in one instance, a national O&G company directly invested in 50% of one of our solar power plants.”

San Angelo’s energy economy continues to diversify beyond new clean energy generation. The Chamber helped land a solar panel recycler for its community and developed a new, privately-owned 184-acre rail port, designed in part to accept wind turbine nacelles and blades for transloading to final regional destinations.

Looney joined CICE for its April 2026 D.C. Fly-In with other chamber and economic development leaders, taking full advantage of the opportunity to share with lawmakers how clean energy powers the San Angelo area’s economy. Whether working with the business community, local, state or federal elected officials, educational leaders or residents, Looney is building bridges to advance a strong clean energy economy and future for his community.

“Clean energy is not a political stance. It is an innovative, cost-effective, efficient and durable method of power generation, which in turn reduces the pressure on other industries that are solely reliant on fossil fuels. We’re excited about our success in the clean energy sector, and to continue our mission to lead the way,” said Looney. 

Texas Works Towards a Clean Energy Economy, Helping Communities Across the State, Regardless of Political Opinions on the Industry

Texas, most commonly known for their oil and gas production, has been investing big on clean energy generation, in fact the red state is leading the country in wind energy generation and second only to left leaning California.  San Angelo is a rural Texas community, rich in farmland, some of which has been converted to solar fields and wind turbine developments. Area farmers and landowners are receiving substantial income from leasing their land to renewable energy companies/developers.  The San Angelo Chamber of Commerce has had a hand in recruiting energy companies to develop at least nine solar and wind farms near their small town. “They’re providing a really strong revenue source,” said Michael Looney, head of economic development for the San Angelo Chamber. The San Angelo community seemed open to the new projects, despite clean energy not always being well received in other communities across the country. “They (renewable energy projects) have some political pushback in certain communities that find them to be not a really good fit, but in Tom Green County we found that it was a perfect fit.” In Texas, clean energy can be political and polarizing. In reality, it’s generating new jobs and investments for communities across the state that are projected to do so for decades to come. In fact, red states like Texas, more so than blue states, are projected to see billions of dollars of investment thanks to the clean energy provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act  The San Angelo Chamber of Commerce is a great example of a chamber being the voice of business. Without making it political, clean energy can benefit the entire country with new, high paying jobs, manufacturing opportunities, and billions of dollars in investments. Watch the full story here

If you would like to learn more about clean energy opportunities in your community, please contact Ryan Evans.