Energy is never far from the agenda at the Legislature. This year, Sunset Advisory Commission reviews of oil and gas and electricity regulators will keep the sector in the spotlight, as will renewed clamor for legislation — however unlikely to happen in a tough budget environment — to aid clean energy.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
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Energy
Gone With the Wind?
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association offers homeowners along the Texas coast their only coverage against potential hurricanes. But some lawmakers say the pool is paying out too much — and they want to limit what sort of coverage it offers in the future.
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Energy
Want Not, Waste Not
A public hearing in Austin on Thursday will address a proposed rule allowing 36 states to ship their low-level radioactive waste to West Texas. As Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports, the rule has raised the eyebrows of environmentalists and the new governor of Vermont.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Inflexible
The legal wrangling between Texas and the federal government over the state’s air-pollution permitting system for big industrial plants is intensifying, as Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a brief in a federal court yesterday defending the system.
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Energy
John Nielsen-Gammon Audio Interview
An audio interview with John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas’s state climatologist
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Criminal Justice
John Nielsen-Gammon: The TT Interview
The Texas state climatologist on the reasons for rising temperatures, why international science on climate change is fundamentally sound (no matter what state officials say), what he thinks of our fight with the EPA and how long the drought in Central Texas is likely to continue.
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Energy
TribBlog: Parks Department Set to Decide on Devil’s River Purchase
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission is set to vote later this month on a deal to buy a Southwest Texas ranch for $13 million — a change from an earlier, controversial land-swap proposal.
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Energy
Pining for Power
East Texas has none of the wind-power potential of West Texas. But it does have plenty of pine trees. And so, 40 miles apart, two first-of-their-kind power plants are going up near Lufkin and Nacogdoches. They will burn the woody debris to make steam, and that steam will turn generators to make electricity. But environmentalists, pulp mills and locals have concerns about the plants — which could also take an economic hit, because they are coming online during a slump in energy prices.
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Energy
Landing or Launching?
There are lily pads and launch pads in Texas government, and the Railroad Commission is a launch pad. Being a railroad commissioner is less an end than a means — a way to propel yourself into a better, higher-profile and more powerful job. Which is why a serious reform effort is afoot.
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Energy
The Greening of Houston
The sprawling capital of the oil industry — the fourth-largest city in the U.S. — has embarked on a range of green initiatives in an effort to keep up with the times and, hopefully, save money. The local-food craze is the most visible of these efforts, with the opening of a weekly farmers market and the planting of Michelle Obama-style vegetable gardens tended by city hall staff. But it is also transforming itself into an electric car hub, a national leader in wind-power investment and an advocate for energy efficiency. It even has a sustainability director hired away from, yes, San Francisco.