The latest energy news from The Texas Tribune.
In a wide-ranging interview Friday night at The Texas Tribune Festival, Republican land commissioner candidate George P. Bush discussed a state law granting in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants and a controversial court case on the Texas Open Beaches Act. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/09/19/_BDA1114.jpg)
UPDATED: Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples confirmed he has been selected to head up the Texas Oil and Gas Association – the state’s largest and oldest petroleum group. He will leave his current post early. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1cdfcd14e91639ce3a4a66d246952045/BD%20INC%20Staples%2097%202013)
For mineral owners, making sure oil and gas operators pay what they promise can prove incredibly difficult, as shown in a case the Texas Supreme Court will soon decide. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/09/17/OilSupremeMoney.jpg)
After a summer that brought little relief from the drought, the small town of Gordon in Palo Pinto County is just one of many Texas communities still facing a difficult task: find new water or go dry. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/DryEarth-Tree.jpg)
Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples lost out on his bid to be lieutenant governor, but he might be in line for another job before his term ends in January. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Staples.jpg)
The Lower Colorado River Authority approved a new plan on Wednesday to manage the Colorado River and its reservoirs, known as the Highland Lakes. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/12/16/Travis-dock.jpg)
Midland school officials and area businesses are excited about a planned high school program that will focus on preparing high schoolers to work in the region's booming oil industry. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/09/17/OilClass.jpg)
University of Texas System regents moved quickly Monday to keep two lawmakers from sitting in on interviews conducted by an external investigator into admissions procedures at the system's flagship Austin campus. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5f04f9b7229625c0b82411960a369927/BD%20INC%20UT%20Regents%20174-1%202013)
Oil and gas activities – but not hydraulic fracturing – tainted drinking water wells atop North Texas’ Barnett Shale and Pennsylvania’s Marcellus formation, according to a new study. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/06/19/MethaneWell-2.jpg)
At stake, according to a posted agenda for today's meeting of the UT System regents, is "the integrity and independence" of an external investigation of admissions procedures. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/10/23/7C2A4718.jpg)
As drought continues to grip Central Texas, those looking to provide water to the region’s fast-growing cities and suburbs see a solution in the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer. But others fear the resource will be drained at their expense. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/09/11/TXTWaterMarketing-Richmond010.jpg)
Greg Abbott continued on Thursday his attack against his rival in the race for governor, not going after the substance of Wendy Davis' new memoir but rather the publicity tour that has accompanied it. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/03/18/DavisAbbottSplit.jpg)
In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: Austin looks at repurposing a lake to expand its water supply, the U.S. House acts to stop an EPA water rule and an interview with Sharlene Leurig of the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Program at Ceres. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/04/08/Tribwater.jpg)
Rick Perry's attorneys were back on Monday with a new filing in which they pursue a different path to quash the felony indictments handed down against the governor last month while relying on many of the same arguments as before. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/08/18/_S3R3701cms4.jpg)
Texas Railroad Commissioner David Porter on Monday became the second of the state's three oil and gas regulators to raise concerns that Russia is waging a misinformation campaign against hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/09/08/DavidPorterRRC_copy.jpg)
Texas now has 104 natural gas fueling stations, according to a map released Monday by the Railroad Commission of Texas. That’s nearly 50 more than Texas had last year. Meanwhile, 67 more stations are set to open in 2015. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TrucksWindow.jpg)
A tainted water well in North Texas has already stirred national debate about the impacts of oil and gas production. Now it stars in a free speech dispute that has landed in the Texas Supreme Court. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/09/04/SteveLipsky03809.jpg)
A U.S. district judge in New Orleans found BP to be "grossly negligent" in the 2010 Gulf oil spill, opening the door to potentially $18 billion in fines that could raise doubts about the oil company's future. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/OilRigFire.jpg)
Less than eight months after breaking ground, the company constructing one of the state’s largest solar plants says it has begun harnessing West Texas’ intense rays. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Solar_1.jpg)
After a drawn-out competition, Texas has lost out on Tesla Motors' $5 billion lithium-ion battery plant, according to a news report. CNBC reports that the upscale electric carmaker had chosen the Silver State to be home to its “gigafactory.” Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/03/17/Tesla-Model-S.jpg)