State lawmakers are proposing legislation to deal with something we reported on this past December: giant piles of petroleum coke or āpet coke.ā Itās a form of coal piling up along the Houston Ship Channel, and it’s leading to complaints from some nearby residents. We recently reportedĀ how black mountainsĀ of petroleum coke could be seen along […]
Here’s a head-scratcher: Over a million of tons of carbon dioxide a year will be captured from a coal plant near Houston, Texas. Then that captured carbon will be used to get more fossil fuels out of the ground, specifically from an old oilfield that’s been in use since the 1930s. Construction has begun on […]
El Pasoās public utility announced plans to run the city coal-free in two years. Itās a bold proposal since no major U.S. city can run without coal power yet, but it seems possible, and it puts El Paso ahead among Texas cities that have sought to end their dependence on coal. The announcement mirrors an […]
New numbers from the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) show that energy-related carbon emissions continue to fall in the country, down nearly four percent last year. “The 2012 downturn means that emissions are at their lowest level since 1994 and over 12 percent below the recent 2007 peak,” the EIA reports. Those declines haveĀ occurredĀ in 5 […]
Amid the continued decline in coal power in the state, Texas’ largest power generator is asking the state for permission to idle another of its coal power units this winter. And new federal regulations proposed today make it unlikely that many new coal power plants will be built in theĀ foreseeableĀ future. Luminant, a division of the […]
Increased use of natural gas to generate power in the U.S. is contributing to a decline in greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report from the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) out today. While coal still makes up a substantial percentage of the nationās electricity, particularly when power demands rise in the […]
Perhaps itās a reflection of the integral role that energy plays in American life, but energy has also played a big role in Hollywood — from the oilfields in ‘Giant’ to a nuclear time machine in āBack to the Futureā. A new television show premiering tonight takes a closer look at the connection. Associate Professor […]
Graph by EIA Carbon emissisions from power generation are down in the U.S., to their lowest levels in nearly twenty years, and Texas is partly to thank. A new analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that “energy-related” carbon emissions have been declining every year (with the exception of 2010) since 2007. That’s […]
Many of Texasā lakes and bays have become contaminated with mercury, which has, in turn, contaminated the consumable fish living in them, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). Now one lawmaker has filed a bill, HB 993,Ā that would help notify people of mercury problems in state waters. āRight now there arenāt any […]
From the Texas Tribune: FAIRFIELD, Texas ā Staring across a lake at the oldest coal-fired power plant in Texas, Mayor Roy Hill thinks back to the early 1970s, when his father helped bring the plant to the area. āQuite honestly, this plant saved Fairfield,ā Hill said. Should it close, he said, the economic impact would […]
StateImpact seeks to inform and engage local communities with broadcast and online news focused on how state government decisions affect your lives.
Learn More »