Tag Archives: solar energy

Sunnyside solar farm update

I’m really rooting for this. As Efrem Jernigan surveyed the young men attending a solar installation training session on his plot in Sunnyside, he spoke about his dreams for the land nearby. The 240-acre former city dump across Reed Road … Continue reading

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“Solar For All” grant

From the inbox: Earlier this year, the Biden Administration announced a $7 billion national “Solar For All” grant competition via the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help expand solar energy production across the country. Harris County leaders enlisted a coalition … Continue reading

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Harris County gets federal grant for its climate action plan

Nice. The U.S. Department of Energy announced Thursday that it awarded Harris County one of 16 clean energy grants totaling $30 million, distributed to state and local governments nationwide. The Harris County grant of more than $1.6 million is the … Continue reading

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The IAH renewable project

I like this. Fresh off inking a new lease with the developers of a planned solar farm in Sunnyside, Houston officials hope to produce clean, reliable power on the grounds of the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Airport officials are asking … Continue reading

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How hot is it?

Too damn hot. Record-setting heat in Texas has sent hundreds of people to emergency rooms in recent weeks, according to state health officials. Temperature records fell across Texas during the last two weeks, putting June 2023 on pace to be … Continue reading

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More battery power coming

Now here is something that might actually help the grid. A surge of new battery projects is expected to come online on Texas and California’s power grids, as developers seek to store the excess electricity produced by those state’s sprawling wind and solar … Continue reading

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Texas will get a lot from the Inflation Reduction Act

Thanks, Biden! Texas’s clean energy sector is expected to be one of the largest beneficiaries of the climate and health care legislation President Joe Biden has signed into law, according to estimates released by the White House Wednesday. Over the next … Continue reading

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When we say “fix the grid”…

This is one of the obvious ways we could attempt to do that. The state’s High Plains region, which covers 41 counties in the Texas Panhandle and West Texas, is home to more than 11,000 wind turbines — the most … Continue reading

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Sunnyside Solar Farm

This is excellent. Residents of Sunnyside, a historically Black neighborhood in south Houston where the city once ran its largest garbage incinerator, will soon realize a decades-long mission to rehabilitate the former landfill site. City officials and residents gathered there … Continue reading

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Create your own power grid

Two words: Solar panels. For nearly eight hours one day in late January, the power to Sam Bryan’s house blinked off after a transformer near his greater Third Ward lot blew a fuse. The same transformer has long had issues, … Continue reading

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Speaking of cryptocurrency and electricity usage…

Congress has a few questions. From wind farms in West Texas to an old aluminum refining operation outside Austin, crypto miners are flooding into Texas take advantage of some of the cheapest power in the country and positioning the state … Continue reading

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A timeline of the blackout

Of interest. A new report from University of Texas at Austin energy experts lays much of the blame for power outages during the state’s deadly February freeze on the failure of natural gas producers to fully weatherize their facilities.” The … Continue reading

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Abbott tells the PUC to, like, “do something” about electricity and stuff

He’s a Very Serious man making Very Serious proposals. Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday gave state electricity regulators marching orders to “improve electric reliability.” In a letter to the Public Utility Commission, Abbott directed the three-person board of directors, who … Continue reading

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There’s still a lot of investment in renewables in Texas

Good to know. Four months after the failure of the Texas electric grid sparked a backlash against clean power, investors and developers have decided just what the state needs: more renewable energy. Much more. Texas is on pace to have … Continue reading

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All juiced up with no place to go

Seems like there should be a better solution for this. In 2005, the Texas Legislature approved the development of a network of electric transmission lines to send wind and solar power from West Texas to population centers in other parts … Continue reading

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ERCOT roundup

Just a few stories of interest that I didn’t feel like putting in their own posts… ERCOT will argue it is immune from lawsuits. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas will argue that it has governmental immunity that protects it … Continue reading

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The infrastructure bill and the power grid

Of interest. President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan could help rebuild Texas highways and ports and push broadband into rural parts of the state, where up to 31 percent of residents do not have access to high-speed internet. It … Continue reading

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Winter storm death count now at 111

A revision of the numbers. Expect this to happen at least once more. At least 111 Texans died as a result of last month’s winter storm, according to updated numbers released Thursday by the state Department of State Health Services. … Continue reading

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Republicans are determined to learn the wrong lessons from the blackouts

It’s kind of amazing, and yet completely on brand. With millions of Texans having lost power during the winter storms, key players in the Legislature say one of the most immediate reforms they will push for is recalibrating the state’s … Continue reading

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It could have been worse

Hard to imagine, but this would qualify. Texas’ power grid was “seconds and minutes” away from a catastrophic failure that could have left Texans in the dark for months, officials with the entity that operates the grid said Thursday. As … Continue reading

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Beware the renewable energy disinformation

It’s out there, in more ways than one. David Dunagan doesn’t want a 760-acre solar power plant to be built across his fenceline. The Old Jackson Power Plant will replace farmland in Van Zandt County with gleaming, metal panels. Though … Continue reading

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Some good local environmental news

Good news for Houston, in particular Sunnyside. The old landfill in Sunnyside sat closed for 50 years, an enduring reminder of the city’s choice to dump and burn its trash in the historically Black community. On Wednesday, Houston City Council members took … Continue reading

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Matt Glazer: To see boon, clean energy needs Congress

(Note: The following is a guest post that was submitted to me. I occasionally solicit guest posts, and also occasionally accept them from people I trust.) I’m a bit of an Austin-area expert when it comes to weird homes. So, … Continue reading

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Houston’s Climate Action Plan

We have one, with goals for 2050. Houston’s first Climate Action Plan calls on the city’s 4,600 energy companies to lead the transition to renewable sources, while residents are asked to swap car rides for mass transit and work to … Continue reading

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We can make the end of coal in Texas happen

It’s already happening. It just needs a bit of a boost. Texas might have the perfect environment to quit coal for good. Texas is one of the only places—potentially in the world—where the natural patterns of wind and sun could … Continue reading

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Getting the (wind and solar) power to the people

It’s all about the transmission lines. The Lone Star state is by far the largest state for wind power, with nearly 18,000 megawatts of wind generation capacity already built and another 5,500 megawatts—nearly equal to California’s total installed capacity—planned. The … Continue reading

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Pity the poor utilities

Sorry, but low electricity prices, especially when they are aided by record amounts of wind power generation, are good news. Texas’ national lead in cheap wind power, combined with near historically low natural gas prices, mild weather, an abundant power … Continue reading

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Dan Wallach: 2016 Electric Power Usage Update

Note: From time to time, I solicit guest posts from various individuals on different topics. While I like to think I know a little something about a lot of things, I’m fortunate to be acquainted with a number of people … Continue reading

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Georgetown goes all in on renewable energy

From ThinkProgress. Located about 30 miles north of the Texas capital in a deeply conservative county, the city of Georgetown will be powered 100 percent by renewable energy within the next couple years. Georgetown’s residents and elected officials made the … Continue reading

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Dan Wallach: 2015 Electric Power Usage Update

Note: From time to time, I solicit guest posts from various individuals on different topics. While I like to think I know a little something about a lot of things, I’m fortunate to be acquainted with a number of people … Continue reading

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Get out of solar’s way

Keep an eye on this. “Hawaii is a postcard from the future,” said Adam Browning, executive director of Vote Solar, a policy and advocacy group based in California. Other states and countries, including California, Arizona, Japan and Germany, are struggling … Continue reading

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ERCOT acknowledges that meeting EPA clean air requirements won’t be that big a deal

From Texas Clean Air Matters: Well, it didn’t take long before the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) released, at the request of Texas’ very political Public Utilities Commission, another report about the impacts of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) … Continue reading

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It’s OK if energy costs go up for now

That’s my reaction to this. As Texas regulators weigh a response to President Obama’s proposal to combat climate change, the operator of the state’s main electric grid says the plan would raise energy costs and threaten reliability – particularly in the … Continue reading

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Dan Wallach: Home power analysis, 2014 edition

Note: From time to time, I solicit guest posts from various individuals on different topics. While I like to think I know a little something about a lot of things, I’m fortunate to be acquainted with a number of people … Continue reading

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