Energy & Environment
Houston Area Braces for Extreme Heat As Officials Advise Electricity Conservation
Posted on · A heat advisory was put in effect for the Houston-area Tuesday as record-high temperatures put a strain on the state's electric grid.
Energy & Environment
Energy & Environment
ERCOT Calls On Texans To Conserve Power Amid High Summer Demand, Forced Outages
Posted on · It is the second time the state’s grid operator has made such a request since devastating blackouts gripped Texas in February.
Energy & Environment
Houston Solar Energy Growth Surges In Recent Years, Despite Lagging Other Big Cities
Posted on · In the past two years, installed solar capacity in Houston has more than quadrupled, as more homeowners are going solar.
Energy & Environment
Electricity Disconnections To Resume In Texas As Summer Heat Arrives
Posted on · The moratorium will be lifted on June 18, two days before a forecasted hotter-than-normal summer arrives.
Energy & Environment
Developer Abandons Keystone XL Pipeline Project, Ending Decade-Long Battle
Posted on · TC Energy suspended construction in January when President Biden revoked a key permit. The controversial project was a major flashpoint in the debate over fossil fuels' role in climate change.
Energy & Environment
Meeting Clean Energy Goals Will Require Significant Changes For Workers, Expert Says
Posted on · Jim Thomson with the consulting firm Deloitte helped author a report about how companies are reshaping jobs to meet the U.S. goal of decarbonizing by 2035.
Energy & Environment
Carbon Dioxide, Which Drives Climate Change, Reaches Highest Level In 4 Million Years
Posted on · The amount of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere reached 419 parts per million in May, its highest level in more than four million years, according to NOAA. Fossil fuel use is driving the increase.
Energy & Environment
Challengers Unseat 3rd Exxon Board Member In Climate Fight
Posted on · Texas-based Exxon says three candidates nominated by a dissident group of shareholders had been elected to its board of directors. Preliminary tallies last week had two of the challengers winning seats.
Energy & Environment
U.S. Energy Secretary Visits Houston To Tout Clean Energy Jobs Plan
Posted on · U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm made Houston her first official trip outside Washington, D.C. since taking office.
Energy & Environment
Texas Legislature Approves Bills To Require Power Plants To ‘Weatherize,’ Among Other Measures To Overhaul Electric Grid
Posted on · The Texas House and Senate both approved negotiated versions of Senate Bill 2 and Senate Bill 3, the two sweeping bills to change the state’s power grid and the people who oversee it.
Energy & Environment
Lawmakers Have Until Saturday To Make Changes To The State’s Troubled Electric Grid
Posted on · Multiple bills in response to the deadly blackouts, which killed at least 30 people in Harris County, have already passed — but in different forms. Legislators now have until end of day Saturday to reconcile the differences.
Energy & Environment
The Week That Shook Big Oil
Posted on · A set of events shook the oil world this week: A tiny shareholder won a battle with Exxon, investors put pressure on Chevron and a Dutch court ordered Shell to slash emissions.
Energy & Environment
Texas Winter Storm Death Toll Could Be Much Higher Than The State’s Count, BuzzFeed Data Review Found
Posted on · The February winter storm left thousands without power in subfreezing temperatures and caused serious damage to people’s homes, leaving some apartment tenants with nowhere to go.
Energy & Environment
EPA Grant Set To Help Redevelop Contaminated Sites In Underserved Houston Neighborhoods
Posted on · The sites include a former incinerator, thermal processing facility and two abandoned commercial high rises.
The ITC Chemical Fire
2 Years After Disastrous Deer Park Chemical Fire, Texas Close To Creating New Safety Rules For Industry
Posted on · Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, spent years negotiating with industry groups to get new regulations placed on the chemical industry after the ITC fire in 2019. The bill has passed both chambers, but small changes need to be ironed out before it is sent to Gov. Greg Abbott.