In the tiny outpost of Marfa, residents who opposed the build-out of a massive solar power plant can thank the languishing economy for putting the project on hold. Tessera Solar has scotched plans to erect 1,000 three-story mirrored satellite dishes until further notice.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Energy
Coal Hard Cash
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy announced more than half a billion dollars in funding for “clean coal” projects across the country. As Nathan Bernier of KUT News reports, a sizable chunk of that federal spending will land right here in Texas.
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Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
I hit the campaign trail with Rick Perry, E. Smith starts off the fall TribLive series by interviewing Attorney General Greg Abbott, Stiles on the most congested roads in Texas, Ramshaw’s interview with former Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, Grissom on the perils of talking too much if you’re the head of the state’s jail standards board, M. Smith on Congressman Chet Edwards’ fight for political survival in a Republican year, Philpott on counties worried the state’s budget woes will trickle down, Hamilton on whether Texas should be in the movie-vetting business, Aguilar on a Mexican journalist seeking asylum from his country’s drug violence, Galbraith on green energy and Texas college football, and excerpts from former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby’s new book, How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics: The best of our best from August 30 to September 3, 2010.
Posted in
Energy
TribBlog: Another Oil Rig Explodes in Gulf [Updated]
Another oil rig — owned by a Houston-based company — has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico.
Posted in
Energy
Flipping the Switch
The Public Utility Commission is poised to pass new rules that could prohibit some Texans from switching from one electric company to another. But as Mose Buchele of KUT News reports, advocates for the elderly and infirm are concerned about the impact of the proposal on some of the state’s most vulnerable ratepayers.
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Energy
Green Horns
When Longhorn football kicks off at home this month, so will a brand-new marketing effort urging boosters to buy, of all things, green electricity. Colt McCoy’s family has already signed up with Texas Longhorns Energy, which promises customers 100 percent power from Texas wind. The Aggies will roll out a similar deal on Friday. The programs are another sign of the universities’ branding heft — even though they may not be the best deal within the confusing Texas electricity market.
Posted in
Energy
Laura Miller: The TT Interview
The former Dallas mayor on her new life as an energy policy nerd, leaving journalism for the “dark side” of elective office, her continuing frustration over the Trinity River Project and her (lack of) political aspirations.
Posted in
Energy
Coal Hard Facts
The Environmental Protection Agency is considering new regulations for coal ash — the waste left over from coal-fired power plants. As Matt Largey of KUT News reports, those new rules could have a big impact in Texas, the nation’s number one coal consumer.
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Energy
TribBlog: The Future of Water
An intensive process to plan the amount by which Texas aquifers can be depleted over the next half-century has been completed just ahead of the Sept. 1 deadline.