Repetitive power conservation appeals by the state’s grid operator face a challenge: Texans becoming less responsive to calls. Past conservation requests have helped reduce 100,000 homes worth of power demand on the grid.
Energy
In-depth reporting on oil, gas, renewable power, and policies shaping the future of energy in Texas from The Texas Tribune.
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Energy
Texans asked to conserve power Wednesday for the eighth time this month
The grid operator asked Texans to reduce power use from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to avoid a power-supply emergency.
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Climate Change in Texas
The U.S. government hoped companies would want to build wind farms off the Texas coast. No one did.
Offshore wind advocates blame Texas’ antagonistic political climate for the lack of offers. A lease off the coast of Louisiana received two bids.
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Energy
Texans asked to reduce energy use again as ongoing heat wave strains power grid
The latest conservation request from ERCOT — the third in the past week — sought to reduce power demand from 3 to 10 p.m. Thursday.
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New Texas Laws 2023
Under new state law, Texas will bill electric vehicle drivers an extra $200 a year
The new registration fee is meant to make up for the state’s lost revenue from gasoline taxes that are used to pay for road construction and maintenance.
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Energy
State power grid operator calls on Texans to conserve energy late Sunday
ERCOT asked energy customers to reduce their electricity use from 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday, the third conservation request this year and the second in three days as punishing summer heat continues.
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Energy
State grid operator asks Texans to reduce energy use Thursday afternoon as demand spikes
This is the second voluntary conservation notice issued this summer by ERCOT, which hopes to lower electricity use and avoid tight grid conditions amid an ongoing heat wave.
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Energy
Texas’ environmental agency enables companies to increase oilfield wastewater disposal in rivers
Researchers are still studying the chemical makeup of “produced water” from Permian Basin oil fields. But regulators say they’re ready to issue permits to discharge the water into rivers and creeks.
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Energy
Texas counties don’t have the power to ban solar farms, attorney general finds
The opinion comes as communities across the country fight solar and wind development, which play an important role in slowing climate change but use a lot of land.
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Energy
For Texans, fighting state-regulated oilfield waste dumps can be a costly, do-it-yourself effort
Some Texans who challenge oil and gas waste sites must spend significant sums and time on investigating what they say the Texas Railroad Commission should examine. Will new regulations for handling waste increase oversight or just maintain the status quo?