ENERGY

The expansion, which will start with a smaller pilot in four high schools between Texas and New Mexico, is being paid for by the Permian Strategic Partnership, a group funded by major energy producers.

Judges overturned a state air pollution permit that was issued last year, arguing that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality illegally enabled Port Arthur LNG to avoid emissions control requirements.

Livingston and Jasper residents hope a lawsuit will force their municipality-operated utility company to offer lower rates and create more transparency in setting rates. They’re among the 5 million Texans living outside the state’s deregulated market and cannot choose their energy provider.

As oil and gas companies struggle to dispose of their wastewater in the Permian Basin, the city of Midland is challenging applications for disposal wells near one of its drinking water sources.

The 5.2 magnitude earthquake is tied for the fourth strongest in Texas history. It occurred in an area where oilfield companies have long been injecting wastewater from fracking underground.

Fabian Maldonado has supported his Odessa family for years on his welding salary. Wanting more, he’s gambling that a mobile coffee trailer can withstand the booms and busts of the industry.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas announced Tuesday an update to the emergency operations reserve levels ahead of the winter months.

At stake in next week’s constitutional amendment election is $13 billion in infrastructure spending. Supporters say it’s an opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime investment.

An exclusive Inside Climate News analysis found that companies have spilled nearly 150 million gallons of toxic, highly saline wastewater in Texas over the last decade.

The practice of using land for both agriculture and solar power generation, known as agrivoltaics, is becoming increasingly common in Texas and nationwide.

Only one Texan, Rep. Pete Sessions, remains in the race for House Speaker. Republicans will hear from the candidates Monday night as they try to fill the job following U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan’s failure to win a majority.

The city approved a plan in 2020 to shut the Fayette Power Project plant with the aim of eliminating carbon emissions. But political, economic and technological forces have gotten in the way.

The effort to update the state’s oilfield waste disposal rules was initiated by Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright, one of the state’s top oil and gas regulators who has investments in the industry.

The state has yet to return to its pre-pandemic unemployment rate of about 3.5%, even as it leads the country in new jobs created. However, state economic experts say the unemployment rate is an indicator of Texas’s rapidly growing population and labor force.

As part of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ approach to grid operations, a request was issued to stakeholders Monday to increase operating reserves, a news release said.

Here’s a look back at the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival through the eyes of Tribune photographers.

An industry leader in the Permian Basin said the new report proves safety regulations are helping. Other observers say more data is needed to understand risks of extraction.

The Countdown is on until the one and only Queen hits the stage in Houston, and we MUST be prepared!

The far-right congressman from Friendswood still backs the conservative push to lower spending, but worries bipartisan Texas projects have been impacted.

A report by the federal environmental agency’s internal watchdog found that EPA is failing to enforce its own pollution limits for the known carcinogen at many refineries — including some in Texas.

A day after declaring emergency conditions for the first time this summer, ERCOT is asking residents to reduce how much power they use between 5 and 9 p.m. Thursday as continued high temperatures push the power grid into tight conditions.

Record-high power demand and faltering electricity sources have tested the grid in the past month, forcing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to dig deep into its toolbox to keep power flowing.

Offshore wind advocates blame Texas’ antagonistic political climate for the lack of offers. A lease off the coast of Louisiana received two bids.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has issued a Voluntary Conservation Notice to customers.

The grid operator asked Texans to reduce power use from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to avoid a power-supply emergency.

The latest conservation request from ERCOT — the third in the past week — sought to reduce power demand from 3 to 10 p.m. Thursday.

The new registration fee is meant to make up for the state’s lost revenue from gasoline taxes that are used to pay for road construction and maintenance.

This is the second voluntary conservation notice issued this summer by ERCOT, which hopes to lower electricity use and avoid tight grid conditions amid an ongoing heat wave.

Researchers are still studying the chemical makeup of “produced water” from Permian Basin oil fields. But regulators say they’re ready to issue permits to discharge the water into rivers and creeks.

The opinion comes as communities across the country fight solar and wind development, which play an important role in slowing climate change but use a lot of land.

Some Texans who challenge oil and gas waste sites must spend significant sums and time on investigating what they say the Texas Railroad Commission should examine. Will new regulations for handling waste increase oversight or just maintain the status quo?

The lawsuit seeks $1 million in damages, claiming the three-day blaze at Shell’s Deer Park facility caused air and water pollution that violated state law.

It’s not found anywhere in state law or the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s rules, but for years the agency has denied citizens the ability to challenge air pollution permits because they live more than a mile away.

Texans are seeing record-breaking temperatures this summer. Tell us how the excessive heat is affecting your daily life or plans for the future and what questions we can answer about dealing with it.

The federal agency has settled a lawsuit the Sierra Club brought over pollution from a coal-burning power plant. The agreement requires the EPA to weigh in on the state’s plan to improve air quality in Rusk and Panola counties.

Some oil companies have expressed interest in bidding to build wind turbines off the Texas coast, which could help reduce emissions that cause climate change but still come at an environmental cost.

The EPA last year announced aerial surveillance of “super-emitters.” At least one other company in New Mexico faced a similar fine.

When sizzling temperatures in June affected the air pressure in pipelines in West Texas, companies in five counties vented millions of pounds of natural gas and other toxins into the air.

The garden in the middle of a 35,000-acre former mine is supplying thousands of pounds of fresh produce to families in three counties that have few grocery stores.

Brownsville is the last major deepwater port in Texas that doesn’t have large fossil fuel projects. The 750-acre facility will export Texas natural gas to other countries.

We are always looking for ways to save you money. The Texas summer heat means you are probably using more electricity to cool off your home. Viewer Don Conger emailed Investigator Amy Davis and said his utility bills are sky-high. He’s looking for a company that will do a home energy audit to show him things he can do in his home to conserve electricity.

The Texas Division of Emergency Management will decide how to use the money.

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.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has issued a weather watch due to extreme temperatures Friday and forecasted record demand.

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.

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.

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.

Texans were asked to conserve energy from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday as temperatures climb over 100 degrees for much of the state.

ERCOT has issued a Weather Watch from June 15 – June 21 due to forecasted higher temperatures and higher electrical demand.So far, grid conditions appeared normal during this Weather Watch.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A failure to compromise on school choice, border security and, for now, property taxes all but assures the governor will call lawmakers back for a special legislative session.

The biggest barriers to making Texas’ power grid 100% renewable have little to do with politics.

State lawmakers have pushed bills to support fossil fuel-burning power plants and restrict renewable energy development this legislative session.

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.

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.

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 are still alive.

The bill marks the Legislature’s turn toward supporting natural gas-fueled electricity after the deadly winter storm in 2021.

On Wednesday, officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, shared a seasonal assessment that shows extreme temperatures over the summer may put the state in an energy crunch. These worries stem from what officials with the Public Utilities Commission of Texas and ERCOT said is Texas’ failure to keep up with population growth in terms of the grid.

An estimated 500,000 people live in thousands of colonias along the Texas-Mexico border. Largely built between the 1950s and 1980s, these communities have been promised water — but it has never come.

Water agencies have long resisted working together out of fear of losing their local powers. But an example from Florida could help save the Lone Star State’s water and infrastructure.

Public Utility Commission Chair Peter Lake said renewable energy could be critical to preventing power outages this summer. Renewable energy supporters said the grid’s reliability doesn’t hinge on wind and solar.

Texas has more than 7,000 water systems. A fraction of them self-reported that they lost 30 billion gallons of water due to broken pipes and leaks in 2021.

The Texas Tribune analyzed previously unreported air monitoring data and records from the 2019 ITC chemical disaster near Houston and found that high benzene levels lingered in the air for two weeks after public health measures were lifted. Experts say more shelter-in-place advisories should have been issued.

In Franklin County, a group of locals are concerned about potential environmental harm from renewable energy facilities and support a bill that would impose more regulations on solar and wind. The industry says it’s being unfairly singled out.

The plants would be activated during emergencies. Lawmakers haven’t decided whether to pay for them through state funds or higher charges to electricity customers.

Customers aren’t required to participate in green pricing programs. It’s voluntary, but available if that’s an option they want.

Critics say the bills could lead to untold billions in added costs to customers and minimal benefits while ignoring needed efforts to reduce electricity demand.

Two bills would form the foundation for companies to build more electric vehicle charging stations across the state, supporters say.

A new report from a public health watchdog found that more than 40,000 pounds of PFAS has been injected into more than 1,000 wells across Texas — and warned that the chemicals could pose a risk to public health

The actions by the Public Utility Commission led to billions of dollars of overcharges, the Austin-based court found. It’s not yet clear if the ruling will affect consumers.

Operators pump a sea of “produced water” underground for disposal. Intensifying tremors raise fears that the deep toxic waste pits could intermingle with water used for farming and drinking.

The bills would allow the state to hire companies to build emergency gas-fueled power plants, among other ideas for swinging the state’s power balance away from wind and solar.

In 2021, the Texas Senate declined to consider a bill extending the program, which discounted local property taxes to lure big companies to the state. It had become plagued with bipartisan accusations of “corporate welfare.”

The idea, which still lacks some important details and could be changed by state lawmakers, would change how electricity is paid for in tight times. We explain it for everyday Texans.

Spencer Cronk, who headed the city since 2018, fell out of favor with council members after communication failures that mirrored problems from the 2021 winter storm.

Thousands are accusing power companies, distribution companies, electric grid operators and others of failing to prepare properly for the February 2021 storm, creating a catastrophe.

Leon County’s judge wants the state to help clear trees around power lines after residents again go without electricity following another storm.

Tens of thousands of Austin households and businesses went days without electricity after a winter storm wreaked havoc across Texas.

The Teacher Retirement System of Texas was following a new state law targeting investment firms that seek to invest in companies that don’t worsen climate change.

A company planning to build a massive liquefied natural gas export facility near Brownsville says carbon capture technology will reduce its pollution, but some locals say it’s a “Band-Aid on a bullet hole.”

Nearly 95% of the city has electricity after last week’s winter storm. But Austin Energy says the remaining outages are the most complex and time-consuming.

While families search for warmth, light and distractions, line workers race to restore normal life.

Abbott declared disaster in seven Texas counties hard hit by this week’s winter storm. Austin has been the epicenter of a power crisis as tens of thousands wait for electricity to be restored.

In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with University of Texas at Austin professor Michael Webber and environment reporter Erin Douglas about the state’s widespread power outages.

Despite worries of a national recession, Texas’ robust labor force and strong energy sector could help it fare relatively well in a potential 2023 slowdown.

The city originally said it would restore all power by 6 p.m. Friday. But more than 65,000 customers are still without electricity Saturday afternoon.

Experts say local governments should prioritize extreme weather preparedness. Cost can be a deterring factor.

As tens of thousands of households and businesses face a third day in the dark, Austin leaders say they will improve emergency communications. But residents and critics have little patience for bungled warnings.

In December, legislators killed a controversial tax abatement program known as Chapter 313, but its effects will last decades.

McBride Operating LLC and its owner, Joseph McBride, contributed to the political campaigns of the three commissioners on the Texas Railroad Commission now considering his request.

Close to 325,000 electricity customers statewide lacked power Thursday evening. Austin’s main power provider said it can no longer promise full restoration by 6 p.m. Friday.

The Texas Railroad Commission has rejected the proposal twice over water contamination concerns, but locals are dismayed that the commissioners keep giving the developer more chances to alter its application.

The substantial change in the way the state’s market works will first be reviewed by the Legislature.

The oil industry pushed hard against the proposal to issue an ozone nonattainment designation, which would have required that companies reduce oilfield emissions.

The Public Utility Commission has about 200 employees but needs more to handle shoring up the state power grid and tackling an expanded list of regulatory duties, according to the state Sunset Advisory Commission.

Many people and insurers sued the Electric Reliability Council of Texas after the 2021 freeze. The nonprofit says it shouldn’t be liable. The state Supreme Court has a chance to weigh in.

Atmos, a major natural gas provider for the state, apologized for last week’s service disruption that left some Texans without heat during freezing weather.