The latest energy news from The Texas Tribune.
Texas politicians' attempt to lure the sriracha sauce factory here from California is part of a strategy to bring more agribusiness to the state, they say. But some farming advocates complain that agriculture is being left behind in the scramble to accommodate growth. Full Story
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News reports late Thursday that lieutenant governor candidate Dan Patrick had received treatment for depression and exhaustion in the 1980s threatened to roil further an an already tense runoff contest just days before voters begin casting ballots. Full Story
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Recurrent Energy has signed a 20-year deal with Austin Energy to build a 150-megawatt solar farm in West Texas that would help power Austin. Expected to be completed in 2016, the facility would be the largest single solar site in the state. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry's attorney is asking for the ability to get witnesses for his client before a Travis County grand jury without making them appear in public. But in a twist in a case that has already had plenty of them, the only way to circumvent the public entrance is to go through DA Rosemary Lehmberg's office. Full Story
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UPDATED: The Texas Public Utility Commission on Friday heard oral arguments in the case of a Wise County rancher protesting a power line that he says was built in the wrong place on his property. The commission is poised to vote on the line’s fate on May 30. Full Story
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Wichita Falls has become the butt of late-night jokes and the subject of shocked headlines over plans to use treated sewer water as drinking water. But the town is hardly the only one to reuse dirty water. Full Story
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Wichita Falls is catching more than a little flak for its plan to take treated sewer water and use it for drinking water, a plan that got put on the fast track with the current drought. But the wisecracks hide an important fact — wastewater reuse is already common across the state. Full Story
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Betsy Madru, state Sen. Kel Seliger's former legislative director, now works for Waste Control Specialists, which runs a low-level radioactive waste site in Seliger's district. She says she understands why some would have questions about her move, but she added there was nothing improper. Full Story
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Texas' "sriracha delegation" on Monday made its long-awaited visit to California to woo the makers of the popular hot sauce, but it was no clearer at the conclusion of the visit what might come of it. Full Story
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In 2013, state lawmakers approved millions of dollars in funding to help repair roads damaged by trucks transporting fracking materials. A year later, many of the affected counties say that money will cover only a fraction of what they need. Full Story
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More than six months after a series of earthquakes surprised parts of North Texas, the mayors of two shaken-up towns told a state House subcommittee Monday that the state has moved too slowly in investigating what’s behind the phenomenon. Full Story
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Huy Fong Foods founder David Tran took a self-styled "sriracha delegation" of Texas officials on a tour of his California hot sauce factory on Monday. Full Story
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The Tribune's Aman Batheja has taken an in-depth look at Midland oilman Tim Dunn, who is best known in the Capitol for his funding of the conservative activist group Empower Texans. Full Story
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How much water does the state need in the coming decades? It depends on whom you ask. State water planners say that Texas needs 2.7 trillion more gallons of water a year by 2060. But some water law and planning specialists say that figure is far too high. Full Story
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Ahead of a possible vote on impeachment on Monday, members of the House select committee investigating UT System Regent Wallace Hall appear split on how to proceed. Full Story
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Not even Disney movies are safe when it comes to the scorched-earth tactics in the race for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: Lamar Smith rejects climate report, Colorado urged to learn Texas water lessons and an interview with Tom Gooch of Freese and Nichols, Inc. Full Story
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Last year, some of the nation’s biggest oil and waste disposal corporations unsuccessfully lobbied state lawmakers to protect them from civil suits filed by cities and counties. But the companies haven't given up the fight. Full Story
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For years, much of the debate over fracking has focused on groundwater pollution. But as a multimillion-dollar legal ruling recently illustrated, those concerns have at times been overshadowed by new worries about air pollution. Full Story
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The market value of agricultural products sold in Texas has increased in recent years, but production has declined steeply, according to the latest figures from the federal Census of Agriculture released Friday. Full Story
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