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  • Slideshow: Galveston Rebuilds

    by Todd Wiseman

    Two years after Hurricane Ike's surge washed over Galveston, residents here still struggle to rebuild parts of the island, which has lost about 10,000 people from its pre-flood population of about 50,000. Full Story 

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    Credit: Todd Wiseman

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    by Evan Smith

    Galbraith's three-parter on the battle over wind power transmission lines, Grissom on a convicted killer who got probation, Aguilar on how the U.S. census counts inmates in the Texas prison system, Stiles launches a new interactive tool tracking the candidates for governor, Hamilton on the Texas A&M University System's latest accountability measure for faculty, Hu's interview with Democratic megadonor Steve "Back to Basics" Mostyn, Philpott on how the Texas economy compares to that of other states and Ramsey on the start of the 2010 election sprint: The best of our best from Sept. 6 to 10, 2010. Full Story 

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  • Series Explores Texas' Transmission Lines for Wind Power

    by Kate Galbraith

    This week, the Tribune put together a three-part series exploring the state's $5 billion transmission-line build-out to support wind power, which is mostly generated in West Texas but needs to be shipped to cities in Central and East Texas. The project is known as CREZ, short for Competitive Renewable Energy Zones. Full Story 

    New turbines tower over an old windmill at the Whirlwind wind farm, near Floydada
    Credit: Kate Galbraith

  • Battle Lines: Panhandle Power

    by Kate Galbraith

    While West Texas has become the nation's wind-power hub, the Panhandle's ferocious winds go largely untapped. That could change with a slew of proposed transmission line projects that could, in turn, enable forests of turbines — if landowners can be soothed. Part three of a three-part series. Full Story 

    New turbines tower over an old windmill at the Whirlwind wind farm, near Floydada
    Credit: Kate Galbraith

  • Battle Lines: Electrifying the Hill Country

    by Kate Galbraith

    The epicenter of the fight over the state's wind power transmission lines is the Hill Country, where landowners are spending lots of money and time to keep the lines from being built. They're trotting out every conceivable argument, and they may just succeed. Part two of a three-part series. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jim Nix

  • Coal Hard Cash

    by Nathan Bernier, KUT News

    On Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy announced more than half a billion dollars in funding for "clean coal" projects across the country. As Nathan Bernier of KUT News reports, a sizable chunk of that federal spending will land right here in Texas. Full Story 

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  • Sounding Off on EPA Regulation

    by David Martin Davies

    Texans are being asked to sound off as the Environmental Protection Agency considers regulating the dumping of coal ash. A public hearing on the issue will be held later today in Dallas. David Martin Davies of Texas Public Radio reports. Full Story 

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  • Battle Lines: Fighting the Power

    by Kate Galbraith

    Texas already harvests more wind power than any state in the nation, bringing the promise of clean energy to millions of homes and businesses. Trouble is, getting that power from remote, windy West Texas to the big cities requires a massive, $5 billion network of transmission lines — which property owners in the Hill County and elsewhere don't want in their back yards. As construction gets under way on the new lines, an army of lawyers and angry landowners is working to stymie the state's renewable energy plans. Part one of a three-part series. Full Story 

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    Credit: Brandon Cripps

  • There Goes the Sun

    by Brandi Grissom

    In the tiny outpost of Marfa, residents who opposed the build-out of a massive solar power plant can thank the languishing economy for putting the project on hold. Tessera Solar has scotched plans to erect 1,000 three-story mirrored satellite dishes until further notice. Full Story 

    SunCatchers that Tessera Solar plans to install near Marfa.
    Credit: Tessera Solar

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    by Ross Ramsey

    I hit the campaign trail with Rick Perry, E. Smith starts off the fall TribLive series by interviewing Attorney General Greg Abbott, Stiles on the most congested roads in Texas, Ramshaw's interview with former Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, Grissom on the perils of talking too much if you're the head of the state's jail standards board, M. Smith on Congressman Chet Edwards' fight for political survival in a Republican year, Philpott on counties worried the state's budget woes will trickle down, Hamilton on whether Texas should be in the movie-vetting business, Aguilar on a Mexican journalist seeking asylum from his country's drug violence, Galbraith on green energy and Texas college football, and excerpts from former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby's new book, How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics: The best of our best from August 30 to September 3, 2010. Full Story 

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  • Flipping the Switch

    by Mose Buchele, KUT News

    The Public Utility Commission is poised to pass new rules that could prohibit some Texans from switching from one electric company to another. But as Mose Buchele of KUT News reports, advocates for the elderly and infirm are concerned about the impact of the proposal on some of the state's most vulnerable ratepayers. Full Story 

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  • Green Horns

    by Kate Galbraith

    When Longhorn football kicks off at home this month, so will a brand-new marketing effort urging boosters to buy, of all things, green electricity. Colt McCoy's family has already signed up with Texas Longhorns Energy, which promises customers 100 percent power from Texas wind. The Aggies will roll out a similar deal on Friday. The programs are another sign of the universities' branding heft — even though they may not be the best deal within the confusing Texas electricity market. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by UT Austin

  • Laura Miller: The TT Interview

    by Emily Ramshaw

    The former Dallas mayor on her new life as an energy policy nerd, leaving journalism for the "dark side" of elective office, her continuing frustration over the Trinity River Project and her (lack of) political aspirations. Full Story 

    Former Dallas Mayor Laura Miller
    Credit: Emily Ramshaw

  • Coal Hard Facts

    by Matt Largey, KUT News

    The Environmental Protection Agency is considering new regulations for coal ash — the waste left over from coal-fired power plants. As Matt Largey of KUT News reports, those new rules could have a big impact in Texas, the nation’s number one coal consumer. Full Story 

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  • Hola, Amigas

    by Kate Galbraith

    Texas has always operated its own electricity grid, separate from the two other grids that span the rest of the nation. But a project quietly emerging in eastern New Mexico could curb that independence — and affect energy prices here in ways that remain much in dispute. Full Story 

    There are three electric grids in the continental United States. A project in New Mexico called Tres Amigas plans to interli…
    Credit: Graphic by Tres Amigas

  • Oil's Well That Ends Well

    by Matt Largey, KUT News

    Halfway through a controversial six-month hold on deep water oil drilling, Matt Largey of KUT News reports, energy sector jobs in Texas appear relatively unaffected. Full Story 

    Response boats work to clean up oil where the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig sank on April 22, 2010.
    Credit: United States Coast Guard