Milton Rister, a former Republican political operative who is currently a member of the governor’s senior staff, will become the new executive director of the Texas Railroad Commission.
Kate Galbraith
Kate Galbraith covered energy and environment for the Tribune from 2010 to 2013. Previously she reported on clean energy for The New York Times from 2008 to 2009, serving as the lead writer for the Times' Green blog. She began her career at The Economist in 2000 and spent 2005 to 2007 in Austin as the magazine's Southwest correspondent. A Nieman fellow in journalism at Harvard University from 2007 to 2008, she has an undergraduate degree in English from Harvard and a master's degree from the London School of Economics. She is co-author of “The Great Texas Wind Rush,” a book about how the oil and gas state won the race to wind power.
Posted in
Energy
Electricity Concerns Persist After Pollution Ruling
With temperatures projected to soar during the final days of August, the state of the Texas electric grid will once again be on policymakers’ minds — though some reliability concerns may be eased since a federal court struck down an EPA rule that could have affected coal plants.
Posted in
Energy
At Senate Hearing, a Debate Over Renewable Energy Incentives
At a Senate hearing on Thursday, Texas Public Utility chairwoman Donna Nelson sharply criticized renewable energy incentives, saying that they are “one of the primary causes” of the current strains on the state power grid.
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Interactive Map: Public Water System Shortages
The drought that began in October 2010 has continued into 2012, and it has taken a toll on Texas’ water supplies. This map shows communities that are at risk of running out of water within 180 days.
Posted in
Energy
Texas Sees Growing List of Property-Rights Cases
A Texas farmer’s battle to keep the Keystone XL oil pipeline off her property is only the most visible of what some legal experts describe as a rising tide of property-rights cases across Texas.
Posted in
Energy
Two Units at Major Texas Coal-Fired Power Plant to Shut
Texas will lose about 1 percent of its power supply over the winter and spring as Luminant temporarily shuts two units at its 1970s-era Monticello coal plant. The company blamed low power prices.
Posted in
Energy
Solar Power Could Aid Texas Electric Grid, Officials Say
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.
Posted in
Energy
Court Sides With Texas, Overturns EPA’s Cross-State Rule
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.”
Posted in
Energy
Al Armendariz: The TT Interview
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.
Posted in
Energy
A Solution for Texas’ Power Problems: Saving Electricity at Peak Times
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.
