Texas lags in solar-power development, and lawmakers have been reluctant to promote it with incentives. Nonetheless, solar power can play a role in aiding Texas’ strained electric grid, industry officials and regulators said at a meeting in San Antonio.

UPDATED: Al Armendariz, a former EPA regional administrator, said a court's ruling overturning the EPA's cross-state pollution rule "only delays the inevitable." Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott called the ruling a "victory for federalism."

The former EPA regional administrator on his decision to resign, why he joined the Sierra Club and why he views climate change as the biggest environmental problem facing Texas.

A small number of Texas homeowners are signed up to help the electric grid when it is strained, by allowing their air conditioners to cycle off briefly during the hottest afternoons. It’s a concept that regulators in Austin are eager to spread. 

Texas likes to be No. 1 at everything. But the state is last when it comes to the reliability of our electrical system, according to a recent assessment by an outside group. Can higher prices and conservation solve the problem?

The four Republican Railroad Commission candidates sound remarkably similar on the big-ticket topics. But that doesn't mean they will vote the same way on everything once they get into office.

A dozen or more chemical plants in Texas are moving forward with expansion projects, spurred by the cheap natural gas created by hydraulic fracturing. But the boom is also raising concerns about water and air pollution.

Midland lies at the heart of a region that produces 14 percent of the world's oil. With oil prices above $80 a barrel on the world market, the area is experiencing a major boom. But the growth has also strained Midland like never before.

Midland has always thought of itself as a small town, but an oil boom is rapidly reshaping the area. Housing as expensive (and hard to find) as New York City's has become the norm, and the strain is evident on schools and roads.

Midland lies at the heart of the Permian Basin, a region that produces 14 percent of the nation's oil — and with oil prices high, the place is booming. But the rapid growth has also strained this once tight-knit community as never before.

Soot gets less attention in Texas than the big daddy of air pollution, ozone. But scientists say that it is a growing threat for Texans, and the Environmental Protection Agency is tightening standards.

The historic Texas drought caused the Ogallala Aquifer to experience its largest decline in 25 years across a large swath of the Texas Panhandle, new numbers from a water district show.

The Public Utility Commission approved a 50 percent increase for the cap on wholesale electricity prices on the Texas electrical grid. That will mean higher prices for ordinary Texans, consumer advocates fear.

Texas’ efforts to stave off future blackouts could cost ordinary households hundreds of dollars per year, a filing by a Texas industrial group suggests. Texas regulators are due to vote on the proposal next week.

As summer begins, the spotlight will be on the dunes sagebrush lizard (will it get an endangered listing or not?), former EPA regional head Al Armendariz (who's testifying in Washington) — and, of course, the perpetual question of whether the electric grid has enough juice.