Not long ago, developers of the massive server farms talked about powering them with wind and solar energy. Now they’re bypassing the grid and building their own gas-fired power plants on site.
Matthew Zhang
Matthew Zhang was a 2017 data visuals fellow for The Texas Tribune. He majored in computer science at Northwestern University, where he worked as a student fellow for the Knight Lab and as a visualization researcher for the Chicago Marathon. You can usually find him pursuing experimental projects in art, music, code, design and storytelling.
Posted in
Environment
As climate change intensifies wildfire risk, prescribed burns prove their worth in the heat-stressed Panhandle
In Borger, officials say a prescribed burn stopped the Windy Deuce Fire from entering neighborhoods. But the practice has faced opposition from some landowners.
Posted in
Energy
As federal money flows to carbon capture and storage, Texas bets on an undersea bonanza
The state is awarding offshore leases to oil and gas companies that hope to bury heat-trapping carbon dioxide deep beneath the seafloor. But critics worry about leakage and the lackluster record of carbon capture facilities onshore.
Posted in
Economy
Army Corps of Engineers withdraws plan to dredge Texas Gulf Coast Superfund site for oil tanker traffic
The reversal follows a challenge by Earthjustice and Gulf Coast community groups alleging flaws in the corps’ environmental review of Matagorda and Lavaca bays.
Posted in
Climate Change in Texas
An oil company is seeking property tax breaks to finance its plans to remove carbon dioxide from Texas skies
Occidental’s tax break applications include new details about its carbon removal plans, which some experts see as important to countering climate change. Some environmentalists say the technology is unproven, expensive and only marginally useful at best.
Posted in
Energy
Biden plan could allow new offshore drilling in Gulf of Mexico
His campaign promise to end fossil fuel development on public lands was thwarted by U.S. courts, high gas prices and Russia’s domination of Western European energy.
Posted inCourts, Demographics, Politics, State Government
Puzzling shapes: Travel across this gerrymandered Texas district
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in a Texas redistricting case that has flagged two congressional districts and nine Texas House districts. Here’s a closer look at one of the districts in question: U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s curiously shaped 35th Congressional District.
Posted inCongress, Demographics
Puzzling shapes: Travel across one gerrymandered Texas congressional district
Revisit our animated tour of Texas Congressional District 35, which wiggles its way from Austin to San Antonio, swallowing specific neighborhoods while avoiding — or splitting — others, all in the name of partisan political advantage.
Posted in
Lock the Vote
Puzzling shapes: Travel across this gerrymandered Texas district
As part of our Lock The Vote series, we examine a key piece of Republicans’ 2011 redistricting strategy, which courts said discriminated against minorities: U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s curiously-shaped 35th Congressional District.
Posted inState Government
Limiting property tax increases: How the House voted
During the debate over Senate Bill 1, state representatives were asked to change a proposed 6 percent limit to 4 percent — a change the bill’s author said would prompt him to withdraw the legislation. The House voted 80-52 against that amendment, and then continued to debate the rest of the bill.