So what if coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels, faces tightening air-pollution standards from federal regulators? Texas is aggressively building new coal plants. An air-pollution permit recently approved for a plant in Matagorda County is one of six granted to projects that are not yet up and running, and four more projects — near Abilene, Odessa, Sweeny and Corpus Christi — have sought permits. Texas, which consumes far more coal power than any other state, already has 19 operating coal-fired power plants, the majority of which are in East Texas.
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
Drilling Down
Whoever wins the governor’s race in November will face a variety of pressing questions concerning one of the state’s biggest industries: energy. Texas is a top producer of natural gas, oil and, more recently, wind power. As things stand now, the state is coping with a federal moratorium on new deepwater oil drilling, bracing for federal action on climate change and other air pollution, preparing for an influx of electric cars and debating whether to enact a mandate for renewable energy sources other than wind. How do Rick Perry and Bill White come down on the issues?
Posted in
Energy
American Idle
Each year in the United States, idling trucks and cars burn several billion gallons of fuel, emitting various pollutants without driving a single mile. The Texas Legislature passed legislation in 2005 limiting big trucks to five minutes of idling time, but local governments aren’t obligated to enforce the law, and the debate over exemptions continues to roil.
Posted in
Energy
TribBlog: Coal on a Roll
Texas air-pollution regulators today approved a crucial environmental permit for a large and controversial coal plant in Matagorda County.
Posted in
Energy
TribBlog: The Hill Country Power Struggle
There are no viable substitutes for the longest segment of a controversial proposed transmission line through the Hill Country, the state grid operator reported today.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
It’s Getting Hot in Here
Come January, the Environmental Protection Agency will begin regulating greenhouse gas emissions around the country for the first time — but not if Texas can help it. Attorney General Greg Abbott last week lodged legal challenges in a federal court against EPA actions on multiple fronts, including a reiteration of the state’s long-standing argument against the agency’s scientific foundation for determining the dangers of greenhouse gas pollution.
Posted in
Energy
Michael Brune Audio Clip
An interview with Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club
Posted in
Energy
Michael Brune: The TT Interview
The executive director of the Sierra Club on the perils of coal ash, why wind is a good thing, the priorities of state environmental-quality officials and how Texas oil companies are working to roll back California’s global warming regulation.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: AG’s Latest Environmental Lawsuits
Texas has fired off another volley of legal challenges against federal environmental regulators.
Posted in
Energy
TribBlog: Fine Lines
Despite opposition from Hill Country landowners, the Texas Public Utility Commission declined to throw out one of the proposed wind-power transmission lines through Hill Country during an open meeting this morning.