As bitter cold sweeps through Texas, ERCOT says the power grid is stable
The state’s electric grid operator issued a weather watch until Friday but says it doesn’t expect power disruptions as demand rises. Full Story
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![Reliability Coordinators monitored the state power grid during a tour of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) command center in Taylor in 2012.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Julia Robinson -
South Texas coal-fired power plant to switch to clean energy after receiving more than $1 billion in federal money
San Miguel Electric Cooperative's plan to turn into a solar and battery plant will leave only 14 coal-fired power plants in the state. Full Story
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![The San Miguel Electric Cooperative power plant can be seen in the background of a sign for the Peeler Ranch on April 26, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas regulators shelve an electricity market reform proposal they say does too little to shore up grid
The Public Utility Commission found that the performance credit mechanism, a financial tool the Legislature capped at $1 billion, would only marginally improve reliability of the state power grid. Full Story
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![Public Utilities Commission Chairman Thomas Gleeson speaks during a meeting on Thursday, July 11, 2024.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Growing oil industry support for methane reduction rule could help it survive Trump’s return
Texas regulators are taking public comment about how they should implement an EPA rule to reduce methane leaks from the oil and gas industry. Full Story
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![ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 20, 2024: A wall containing Bruder drill site owned by Total in Arlington, Texas on Wednesday, November 20, 2024. The city of Arlington approved Total’s application to drill and frack 11 gas wells at this site, which sits over 300 feet away from residential homes. CREDIT: Desiree Rios for Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune -
Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
A 2021 ruling found the oil giant committed more than 16,000 violations of the Clean Air Act at its Baytown refinery and plant. Full Story
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![Smoke rises from a fire at Exxon Mobil's refining and chemical plant complex in Baytown on July 31, 2019.]()
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Recycled oilfield water could aid drought-stricken West Texas
Oilfield wastewater injected underground is causing earthquakes and blowouts. Now, pilot projects are exploring whether this water could be treated and used to grow crops. Full Story
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![Eric Selinger walks on his property near the Pecos River outside Imperial on Oct. 8. He previously farmed shrimp but now hopes that treated produced water could bring the land back to life.]()
Credit: Martha Pskowski/Inside Climate News -
Texas’ push to meet soaring power demand with nuclear energy could spark uranium mining revival
State leaders want nuclear reactors to provide consistent, low-carbon power to large industrial facilities. But in South Texas, locals worry what a uranium mining boom could mean for their groundwater. Full Story
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![Misty Ortega lives adjacent to Uranium Energy Corporation's site for deep injection disposal of radioactive waste and has campaigned against the project in Goliad County.]()
Credit: Dylan Baddour/Inside Climate News -
Grid operator says Texas is better prepared for extreme cold this winter
ERCOT says conditions this winter could spark extreme cold, but additional power supply and continued weatherization efforts will lower the risk of power outages. Full Story
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![The ERCOT Board of Directors convene for a meeting at the organization's headquarters in Austin on Dec. 3, 2024.]()
Credit: Noah Devereaux for the Texas Tribune -
Crypto miners must register with state and reveal power usage under new Texas rule
The Public Utility Commission of Texas adopted the rule amid surging demand for power across the state and a growing crypto mining industry in Texas. Full Story
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![Pods full of computers that are submerged in fluid at the crypto mining facility, Helios, near Afton, on Sept. 15, 2022. The fluid keeps the computers well under manufacturer-designed temps to avoid overheating.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
Texas reaches $12.6 million settlement in connection with 2019 Port Neches chemical plant explosion
The settlement directs TCP Group to repair equipment and to pay $12.6 million in penalties for clean air violations at its Southeast Texas facility. Full Story
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![A process tower flies through the air after exploding at the TPC Group Petrochemical Plant, after an earlier massive explosion sparked a blaze at the plant in Port Neches on Nov. 27, 2019.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Erwin Seba -
A West Texas lawmaker wants to redirect millions of tax dollars to plug abandoned wells, curb emissions
The proposal comes after the state’s oil and gas regulatory agency said it needs more money to plug wells that are in some instances erupting. Full Story
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![State Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa, listens to Jazmin Cazares as she testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety at the state capitol in Austin on June 23, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Republican Christi Craddick reelected to Railroad Commission, the state’s oil and gas regulatory agency
The three-member board oversees Texas’ oil and gas industry. The agency has faced criticism over safety concerns linked to fracking, well blowouts and groundwater protection. Full Story
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![Christi Craddick, chair of the Texas Railroad Commission, speaks to delegates at the 2024 Texas GOP Convention in San Antonio on May 25, 2024.]()
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State oil regulator requests $100 million to tackle West Texas well blowouts
Abandoned wells in the Permian Basin are increasingly erupting with briney, polluted water. The Texas Railroad Commission says it needs emergency money to respond. Full Story
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![Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Christi Craddick, then-Chairman Wayne Christian, and Commissioner Jim Wright listen during an RRC hearing in Austin on Nov. 30, 2021.]()
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A West Texas well that exploded has been sealed, cleanup will take months
While residents smelled rotten eggs, the state’s environmental agency said it has not detected any air pollution. Full Story
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![An oil well blowout shooting a mixture of oil, water, and gas over 100 feet in the air west of Toyah on Oct. 4, 2024.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel courtesy of DeSmog -
Level of oil and gas regulation at heart of Texas Railroad Commission race
Incumbent Christi Craddick is touting the health of the Texas energy industry and its impact on the economy. Her top opponent says regulation on the commission is too lax. Full Story
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![From left: Commission Shift Executive Director Virginia Palacios moderates a Texas Railroad Commission candidate forum with Libertarian Hawk Dunlap, Democrat Katherine Culbert and Green Party candidate Eddie Espinoza in Austin on Oct. 16, 2024. Republican incumbent Christi Craddick did not attend.]()
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“Should we be worried?”: Another well blowout in West Texas has a town smelling of rotten eggs
Experts warn that more blowouts should be expected unless oil and gas companies change their methods. Full Story
![An oil well blowout shooting a mixture of oil, water, and gas over 100 feet in the air west of Toyah on Oct. 4, 2024.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel courtesy of DeSmog -
Fight over West Texas nuclear waste plan to hit U.S. Supreme Court
A company has long pursued the plan to move “high-level” nuclear waste from power plants across the nation to a storage facility in Andrews County. Full Story
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![The entrance to the Waste Control Specialists site where radioactive and hazardous waste is being stored on Jan. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas overrides local lawsuits to negotiate smaller settlements with polluters, Harris County officials claim
A 2017 law lets the state block local governments, individuals and nonprofits from suing polluters and pursue the cases itself. Full Story
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![Smoke from the K-Solv Chemicals and Maritime Services fire in Channelview rises above the Battleship Texas and the Houston Ship Channel on April 7, 2021. The chemical facility erupted in flames after an explosion, with a large plume of black smoke that could be seen for miles.]()
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says Legislature will review Deloitte’s contracts after public loan project scandal
The examination of Deloitte’s existing contracts comes after it failed to catch red flags in a company’s application for a loan to build or upgrade power plants in the state. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick adjourns for the day on the eighth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial on Sept. 14, 2023. Paxton’s defense attorneys rested their case that evening.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
How Texas weakened its own air pollution monitoring team
Former employees say the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality gutted the unit soon after the fracking boom swept the state oil industry. The operation never returned to what it was before. Full Story
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![Deer Park Stadium with refineries in the background on Feb. 26, 2023 in Deer Park.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune