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Energy and Environment Reporting for Texas

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What You Can Do About Climate Change

For those watching and waiting for President Obama to take action on climate change, last night’s State of the Union address may have been an encouraging start. “If Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will,” the president said. “I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, […]

Lesser Prairie Chicken Has Energy Industry Worried

From the Texas Tribune: In a few months, a grouse known as the lesser prairie chicken will emerge from its West Texas winter hideaway. Males will do a loud and elaborate mating dance, delighting females — and birdwatchers. But there is less dancing now because the chickens’ numbers have declined. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife […]

Wind Tax Credit Spared in ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Deal

Just a week after Texas hit another record for wind power generation, the wind industry and the green energy sector are breathing a huge sigh of relief today after Congress extended a tax credit that was set to expire. The Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit (PTC) has been around since 1992, and gives producers of […]

Texas Wind Power Considers Future Of Fewer Tax Breaks

The federal tax credit that helped make Texas the leader in wind power expires at the end of year. Some people in the wind energy industry seem resigned to the possibility that even if Congress renews the credit, the days of such breaks are nearing an end. At the American Wind Energy Association conference held last week […]

As Tax Credit Hangs in the Balance, Texas Sets Another Wind Record

Many Texans woke up to a breezy, cool morning today, and when they turn their lights on and start doing their laundry or nuke a breakfast taco, many of them will be doing so with the help of that breeze: wind power. Texas leads the country for installed wind power, and is one of the […]

The ‘Secret’ to Unlocking Renewable Energy in Texas? Battery Storage

Texas may be rich in fossil fuels like oil and gas, but it’s also awash in clean, renewable energy. Well, at least it could be. With the most renewable energy potential in the United States, Texas is a formidable candidate to up their renewable energy usage. Wind power now supplies 8 percent of energy to the grid […]

Fact-Checking Obama and Romney on Energy and the Environment

Last night’s presidential debate saw a lot of claims and assertions about energy and environmental policy, so we sat down to sift through what the candidates are saying. It may not surprise you that there were some questionable assertions from both sides. It’s worth noting that any policy, and energy policy in particular, doesn’t typically […]

SXSW Eco: The Promises and Challenges of Energy Along the Border

Scott Storment has a story he likes to tell about doing green business in Mexico. “My first wind project [in Mexico] was outside of Monterrey,” Storment recalled Thursday at a panel on U.S.-Mexico border issues at the SXSW Eco conference. He has worked on energy projects along the U.S.-Mexico border for 20 years. His latest venture, […]

Texans Get Another Choice On Where Their Power Comes From

Texans can now choose to get their power from 100 percent Texas-drilled natural gas.  Through a new option from Direct Energy, a retail electric provider, customers can pay a little more — about six dollars extra a month on the average homeowner’s bill* — to get their power just from Texas gas. In Texas, Direct Energy serves cities […]

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