Smitherman says while it’s probably legal for the state’s top energy regulator to seek the ERCOT chief executive job, “it just doesn’t feel right to go forward.”
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
TribBlog: Car2Going Public
Car2Go is a pilot program no more. The innovative Austin-based car-sharing cooperative is opening its memberships to the public starting on May 21.
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Energy
Wind in the Wires
Many Texans like wind power. Few want electric transmission lines running through their ranches. Herein lies the problem.
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Energy
Driven to Share
Austin is hoping the next big thing comes in a tiny car: It’s the first North American city to pilot a car-sharing program promising the possibility of less congestion and lower emissions.
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Economy
TribBlog: Coming To A State Park Near You…
The sound of clanging and banging construction equipment may interrupt the tranquil noises of nature for Texas campers this spring and summer.
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Energy
The Applicant
Can an energy regulator who’s on the board of an entity he oversees make a play for the top job there? Industry and government sources say that’s what Barry Smitherman, the chairman of Texas’ influential Public Utility Commission, is doing, though Smitherman won’t say whether he’s in the running.
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Energy
To Dump or Not to Dump?
Andrews County’s hazardous waste holdings might be expanding soon. A proposed rule would allow more low-level radioactive waste to be transported, processed and stored in West Texas, and regulators are listening to public comments, Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports.
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Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Grissom on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to stay Hank Skinner’s execution, Thevenot on the myth of Texas textbook influence, Rapoport on the wild card who was just elected to the State Board of Education, Ramshaw on the price of health care reform, Philpott on the just-enacted prohibition on dropping kids from the state’s health insurance rolls, M. Smith on the best little pole tax in Texas, Ramsey on the first corporate political ad and the reality of 2011 redistricting, Stiles on the fastest-growing Texas counties, Aguilar on the vacany at top of Customs and Border Protection at the worst possible time, Galbraith on the state’s lack of renewable energy sources other than wind and its investment in efficiency, and Hu and Hamilton on the runoffs to come in House districts 52 and 127. The best of our best from March 22 to 26, 2010.
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Energy
Don’t Blow It
Texas’ wind power prowess is well known: Turbines have been popping up like weeds, and we now have three times the wind power installed as the next closest state. But other renewable energy sources have lagged here.
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Energy
Investing in Efficiency
Texans have always been far better at making energy than saving it. But if a proposal before the Public Utility Commission gets approved this year, buildings and appliances would need to become much more energy efficient by 2014. Electric providers across the state would be required to offset 50 percent of their customers’ growth in usage with energy-efficiency measures — well above the current 20 percent requirement set by the Legislature.