Solar power proves its worth as heat wave grips the state
Texas has seen a boom in solar power in recent years, and experts say that’s helped the state grid weather an intense June heat wave. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e661c63e8b9ecd6efdbb17673a5f6524/0403%20Wharton%20Solar%20Panel%20AM%20TT%2007.jpg)
-
![Solar panels stand in long rows and cover hundreds of acres in Wharton county on Monday, April 3, 2023.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
ERCOT can’t be sued over power grid failures during 2021 winter storm, Texas Supreme Court rules
The all-Republican court narrowly found that the nonprofit corporation operating the state’s electrical grid qualifies for sovereign immunity, which protects government entities from lawsuits. Full Story
![A variety of power lines in Dallas near Greenville Avenue during a winter storm on Feb. 16, 2021. Thousands of Dallas residents have been without power for multiple days.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: The rise of renewable energy in Texas
In this week’s episode, energy expert Doug Lewin discusses how wind and solar power are supplying an increasing amount of power in Texas whether state leaders like it or not. Full Story
![Crews build a solar panel farm outside of El Campo on Monday, April 3, 2023.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas cities set temperature records amid relentless heat wave
Corpus Christi logged a heat index of 125 degrees at one point in the past week, as Laredo, Del Rio, San Angelo and Junction also set new highs. Full Story
![Utility poles lead to downtown Dallas during a heat advisory in Dallas on July 12, 2022.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Shelby Tauber -
Texas called for energy conservation Tuesday as extreme heat spiked electricity demand
Texans were asked to conserve energy from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday as temperatures climb over 100 degrees for much of the state. Full Story
![People cool off at Barton Springs as temperatures rose to 105° on July 13, 2022.]()
Credit: Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribune -
Determined to forge ahead with canal expansion, Army Corps unveils testing plan for contaminants in Matagorda Bay
The expansion project will enable the world’s largest class of tanker ships to dock at a new oil export terminal on the Gulf Coast. It also involves dredging a Superfund site. Full Story
![Max Midstream's Seahawk oil terminal stands across Lavaca Bay from a jetty at Lighthouse Beach in Port Lavaca on Wednesday, June 7 2023.]()
Credit: Dylan Baddour/Inside Climate News -
Fossil fuels got a boost from lawmakers aiming to fix Texas’ grid, while renewable energy escaped stricter regulations
The bills will give owners of natural gas power plants incentives to build more capacity, but they don’t go as far as originally proposed to change how electricity is created and sold in the Texas market. Full Story
![House Speaker Dade Phelan listens to state Representatives on the House floor during Sine Die, the last day of the 88th Texas Legislative Session, at the Capitol in Austin on May 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Abbott appointee resigns as chair of power grid regulator
Public Utility Commission chair Peter Lake had spearheaded a plan to help the state’s power grid withstand weather disasters, but the plan lacked support in the Texas Legislature. Full Story
![Public Utility Commission of Texas Chairman Peter Lake speaks at a press conference at the PUCT Headquarters in Austin, on Nov. 29, 2022. The conference spotlighted grid reliability and readiness as Texas approaches winter.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo/The Texas Tribune -
Climate proposals withered at the Texas Capitol this year
Proposals to improve energy efficiency failed. Bills that sought to limit greenhouse gas emissions in Texas were ignored, and legislation to block cities from taking action on climate change passed. Full Story
![Industrial energy-producing wind turbines cover hundreds of acres of farmland in Lyford on May 17, 2023.]()
Credit: Ben Lowy for The Texas Tribune -
North Texas lawmakers talk impeachment, property taxes, school choice
At a Texas Tribune event, Republican state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione said his vote to impeach Ken Paxton was akin to being a grand juror who found enough evidence to warrant a trial in the Senate. Full Story
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Republican priorities on school choice, border fail, but late-night compromises resurrect others
Rushed agreements and suspended rules rescue legislation on the electric grid and economic incentives for companies, and work is still being done on a property tax proposal. Full Story
![The state Capitol in Austin is seen behind parking garage lights on the evening of April 18, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas power struggle: How the nation’s top wind power state turned against renewable energy.
State lawmakers have pushed bills to support fossil fuel-burning power plants and restrict renewable energy development this legislative session. Full Story
![Lyford, TX - May 17, 2023: Industrial energy-producing wind turbines cover hundreds of acres of farmland in Lyford, TX. (Photo by Ben Lowy for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Ben Lowy for The Texas Tribune -
Texas has gone big with renewable energy. Why can’t it go all the way?
The biggest barriers to making Texas’ power grid 100% renewable have little to do with politics. Full Story
![Solar panels near Cunningham on April 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L’Roy/The Texas Tribune -
House approves bill capping what Texas consumers would pay for new tool to boost power plants
Senate Bill 7 would limit how much electricity customers could end up paying if the state opts to use performance credits, which would give the money to power generators in hopes they’ll add more power to the state grid. Full Story
![A power plant in San Antonio on Aug. 4, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Economic incentives clear Senate committee as negotiations continue
Lawmakers are trying hard to come up with an agreement on how to replace an embattled 20-year tax abatement program for big companies that expired in December. Full Story
![A working pump jack sits near wind turbines on the Cline Shale near Maryneal, south of Sweetwater, on April 16, 2013.]()
Credit: Mark Graham for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House’s weekend off means key Senate bills die after missing a legislative deadline
Priority bills that died include a 10-year minimum sentencing for gun-related crimes, a ban on “critical race theory” at public universities and LGBTQ-related legislation. While the bills may be dead, lawmakers have a limited time to attach their ideas to legislation that is still alive. Full Story
![State Representatives and their families gather on the House floor on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas leaders want a new way to attract businesses here. But they can’t agree on how to do it.
The two chambers have 10 days to cut a deal before the end of the legislative session, and they are miles apart on some of the very foundations of a corporate tax-abatement bill considered to be a priority for Republican state leaders. Full Story
![A pumpjack operates nearby a house under construction in a new housing development on March 14, 2022 north of Midland.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Bill to give companies low-interest loans to build more gas-fired power plants is approved by House committee
The bill marks the Legislature’s turn toward supporting natural gas-fueled electricity after the deadly winter storm in 2021. Full Story
![A power substation in East Austin during an ice storm on Feb. 3, 2022.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune -
Houston-area chemical fire highlights gaps in Texas environmental enforcement
A fire broke out at a Deer Park Shell plant the day after a public hearing on renewing the permit for ITC, a nearby facility that caught fire in 2019, sparking a Texas Tribune/Public Health Watch investigation that documented failures in state and federal oversight. Full Story
![Deer Park, Texas: An overhead view of an explosion at a Shell USA Inc. facility on May 5, 2023 in Deer Park, Texas. Mark Felix/The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Shell refinery unit in Deer Park had history of malfunctions before fire
Recent “upsets” like tripped compressors, pressure loss and freezing weather resulted in thousands of pounds of unauthorized pollution but no fines or citations from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Full Story
![An overhead view of an explosion at a Shell USA Inc. facility on May 5, 2023 in Deer Park.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/0f7a2b32c14b14af70945f2e490c64ab/Dallas%20Winter%20Storm%20BT%20TT%2003.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e6fa162e4b3d7355801a17c41e5e4dfd/TribCast%20June%2023.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9a69682a8173436a0ead035a51b25567/2022-07-13T121303Z_571690834_RC2IAV9LUMKS_RTRMADP_3_TEXAS-POWER-ERCOT.JPG)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/cd26e8faf35a3ebb27e5af9ddeaedd8f/Heat%20File%20KC%20TT%2002.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e9734d8a3a335d4d42139927cedf266a/0607%20Matagorda%20Dredging%20DB%20TT%2004.JPG)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7669f3de33d9cdad33ede9bb4b484f3b/0529%20Sine%20Die%20House%20EG%20TT%2001.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e87e13e69213ff04cf976219b1f39e0b/1129%20PUC%20Presser%20AS%20TT%2005.jpeg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/87477bfea1eea4bce26b9343e9661ce3/Willacy%20Co%20Windfarm%20BL%20TT%2061.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/73884389e6b436fb183d04a304182884/06-06_DallasPostLege-Lead-Title-01-v1.png)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b32b5343626bd30046829e7576cc48bb/0418%20Uvalde%20Testimony%20EL%20TT%2038.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b4540bd1f1e2230cd0ac384653947da9/Willacy%20Co%20Windfarm%20BL%20TT%2026.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f2a91e7f0af84df233b295d6e2507d6a/0410%20Mt%20Vernon%20Solar%20Tour%20EL%20TT%2023.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/af7b4a7bc626d0063eb7f660f4630eac/San%20Antonio%20Power%20Plant%20SP%20TT%2006.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9159181317d93a00d049c792cfddf813/Turbine%20and%20Pumpjack%20MG%20TT%2001.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/fbbce63096ea64d81f63ded0de1aefb0/0110%20Lege%20Opening%20EL%20TT%2001.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/104ee70902cbeb4e9d240e8b9ae90256/Permian%20Basin%20Oil%20Boom%20EH%20TT%2012.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1331a62a78b9e3c6f0a5daf3d1a7ac86/Winter%20Storm%20Substation%20ATX%20JJ%20TT%2005.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/33b3bb89637415ab79cb971a30ae0b00/0505%20Shell%20Fire%20Deer%20Park%20MF%2003.JPG)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/592240c46aa9fe929eae965061c8789b/0505%20Shell%20Fire%20Deer%20Park%20MF%20TT%2004.jpg)