(The Center Square) – Another manufacturing company is expanding operations in Texas, this time in El Paso.
Schneider Electric USA, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Schneider Electric SE, is expanding its manufacturing operations in El Paso. Its multi-million-dollar investment is expected to create 300 new jobs. It also received a Texas Enterprise Fund grant of $1.5 million.
“'Made in Texas' is a powerful global brand,” Gov. Greg Abbott said. Schneider Electric’s expansion “showcases our state’s leadership in advanced manufacturing and technological innovation. Companies invest and expand in Texas because of our unmatched business-friendly climate, reasonable regulations, and highly skilled and growing workforce.”
Schneider Electric USA, which manufactures products and provides services for energy management, industrial automation, building systems, and digital cloud-based platform service industries, is increasing the manufacturing capacity of medium voltage switchgear critical to the data center market in Texas and the U.S.
"Today’s announcement underscores our commitment to next-generation manufacturing in the U.S. as demand for electrification, digitalization, and automation rises,” Schneider Electric North America Operations President Aamir Paul said. “With our growing local supply base, Schneider Electric is well-positioned to play a leading role in shaping a more energy-efficient America.”
While not a financial services company required to comply with state law banning so-called Environmental, Social Governance (ESG) policies, Schneider Electric may be forced to amend its so-called “net-zero” agenda in Texas.
“We are committed to become Net-Zero across our entire value chain by 2050,” it states on its website. “By tackling emission reduction across scopes 1, 2 and 3 and investing in carbon removal for residual emissions and beyond the value chain, and collaborating end-to-end, we are aiming to deliver on targets independently validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.”
It also provides a range of services to promote “sustainability,” including publishing sustainability reports, providing climate change advisory services, and publishing a “sustainability glossary” to help clients understand “concepts that drive our ambition.”
Schneider Electric argues “more stringent regulations to reduce CO2 emissions” are needed “to allow a massive deployment of distributed energy resources, including the incorporation of electric vehicles.” It supports “leveraging smart grid and microgrid tools,” “more environmentally friendly switchgear” and a “circular economy approach” to create a “low-carbon future.”
Its stated goals conflict with the Texas legislature’s emphasis on providing reliable, dispatchable energy, which is primarily derived from natural gas. The legislature has banned financial policies that negatively impact the Texas oil and natural gas industry, The Center Square reported.
The Texas oil and natural gas industry accounts for nearly one third of Texas's GDP and funds more than 10% of the state's budget. It generates over 43% of the electricity in the U.S. and 51% in Texas, according to 2023 data from the Energy Information Administration.
It also broke multiple records in 2023 and 2024, including record production, exports, refining outcomes and crude oil supply. At the same time, it propelled Texas to lead the U.S. in emissions reductions, The Center Square reported.
The announcement came as Texas again won Site Selection magazine's Governor's Cup award for the 13th consecutive year and 21st time overall in nearly 50 years. The award recognizes the top-performing state with the most job-creating business relocations and expansions. With a total of 1,368 projects in 2024, Texas dominated all other states by far for attracting the most new and expanded business facility projects.
“Texas partners with the businesses that come to our great state to grow,” Abbott said at a recent event in Austin. “When businesses succeed, Texas succeeds. We added more new jobs last year than any other state, and we have exceeded that for three years in a row. Texas also added more than 314 corporate headquarters since 2015, making our state the headquarters of headquarters. Texas truly is the land of economic freedom – freedom that stokes self determination to achieve things once thought impossible. Freedom that will propel Texas to global economic dominance."
