Sierra Club Tells Texas Committee More Than a Pause Is Needed on LNG Facilities
May 8, 2024
Last week, the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club joined a parade of invited high-priced lobby types as the Texas House of Representatives held a special hearing in Port Arthur on the Biden Administration’s pause on providing licenses to LNG (...
Texas Utilities Are Dropping a Big Piece of the Grid Struggle Puzzle - Tell Gov. Abbott to Push for Better
May 3, 2024
Utilities have extraordinary political power in Texas. They single-handedly killed the bill that would increase energy efficiency goals for the state for the last several legislative sessions. Gov. Abbott appoints the commissioners that oversee...
Utilities File Modest Energy Efficiency Plans. Could Hope for Stronger Pro-Consumer Plans Be on the Horizon?
May 3, 2024
Are Texas utilities going to do a lot more to fix our grid with the most affordable, consumer-friendly solutions? Not really, though we have a bit of hope as the Public Utility Commission of Texas finally began asking stakeholders, the utilities and...
Rice’s Whales, the IRA, and Energy Expansion
April 23, 2024
One of the areas that shows both the promise and the peril of the IRA, and how quickly it has been politicized, is the issue of oil and gas leasing and leasing for offshore wind in the Western Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Texas and Louisiana.
Texas Lt. Governor Announces 57 Interim Charges Before Next Legislative Session
April 17, 2024
Interim charges indicate some of the key issues that Senate leadership thinks are important, and many of the charges are likely to lead to proposed legislation in 2025.
ERCOT, PUCT and an Alphabet Soup of Rules That Impact the Grid
April 11, 2024
What ever happened to all those bills that passed the Texas House and Senate, became law, and were supposed to “fix the grid”? Have the changes that we expected to see happen, happened?
The Latest on the $10 Billion Voters Approved in 2023 (Mainly for New Gas Plants)
April 9, 2024
Last year, Texas voters approved a number of state constitutional amendments, including Prop 7, which created the “Texas Energy Fund.” Here's where the fund stands now.
Texas Water Development Board Taking Comments on $1 Billion in Funds for Water Infrastructure, Conservation, and Awareness Through April 30
April 5, 2024
When voters passed Proposition 6 in 2023, it authorized up to $750 million for the Texas Water Fund and at least $250 million for the New Water Supply for Texas. It also commits the Board to launching a new statewide water awareness campaign.
CPS Energy Announces Gas Plant Closures Near San Antonio and Gas Purchases
March 28, 2024
The Sierra Club will continue to work with CPS Energy and encourage San Antonio leaders to prioritize renewable energy, storage, and reducing demand as the priorities to meet the energy needs of San Antonians.
Texas AG Paxton Fights Against Measures That Would Reduce Deaths and Climate Extremes
March 18, 2024
Paxton’s lawsuits are clearly designed to prevent rules and standards that would require tighter permits on particulate matter for the coal, oil and gas, refinery, rock crushers and cement industry.