Texans asked to conserve energy as demand was expected to put strain on electric grid
Public Utility Commission said conservation would help lower demand during peak times and help avoid emergency conditions. Full Story
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Emily Foxhall is The Texas Tribune's climate reporter. She joined the Tribune as an energy reporter in December 2022, focused on the state’s transition to green energy, the reliability of the power grid and the environmental impact of electricity generation. Emily is based in Houston, where she grew up. After a stint as a Tribune student intern in 2012, she began her career at the Los Angeles Times and its community papers. She later worked at the Houston Chronicle where her environmental reporting uncovered the effects of climate change and pollution on the region. She won several Texas Managing Editors awards and was part of the 2017 team that was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of Hurricane Harvey. Emily graduated from Yale University in 2013, where she studied English and was a Yale Journalism Scholar.
Latest Contributions
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![Reliability Coordinators monitored the state power grid during a tour of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) command center in Taylor in 2012.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Julia Robinson -
Last year was the hottest ever recorded in Texas
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data shows that average temperatures in 2023 were 3.5 degrees above the 20th century average. Full Story
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![Austin-Travis County EMS first responders cart Robert Shipp, 75, of Bastrop, to an ambulance during a 102 degree summer day outside Austin Wrench A Part in Del Valle on July 7, 2023. According to the EMS crew and Shipp, he was seen passing out while searching for car parts under the hot sun, and hadn’t eaten any food or drank any water all day.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Texan Bitcoin miners profit by using less electricity; advocates say all Texans should get the same chance
Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms made headlines over the summer for making millions by selling pre-purchased power back to the grid. The news highlighted how the grid can benefit businesses more than consumers. Full Story
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![Terri Rimmer uses her computer to search for remote jobs and browse the internet in her apartment in Fort Worth on Sept. 9, 2023. A black out curtain on the window helps keep the room cool.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Texas grid faces winter after failed attempt to get more power online
Industry experts continue to argue over whether the electricity market in Texas needs to change to make the grid more reliable in winter and summer. Full Story
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![Snow surrounds an Austin Energy station in Austin on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Fear and worry shadow Texas oyster fishermen as another season begins with few reefs open
Despite fishermen’s wishes to delay the season in hopes that oyster reefs recover from years of environmental stress, the state pushed ahead with a Nov. 1 start. Full Story
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![Manuel Perez watches as neighboring oyster boats maneuver around the harvesting zone in Galveston Bay, outside of Texas City, on the first day of the oyster harvesting season, on Nov. 1, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas power grid operator approved for a 40% budget increase
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said it needs more money to comply with new regulations, hire more employees and fight legal challenges. It said the budget increase will cost power customers less than 20 cents per month. Full Story
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![Four reliability coordinators monitor the state power grid during a tour of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) command center in Taylor on August 14, 2012.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Julia Robinson -
Sheep graze on Texas solar farms as renewable energy companies embrace agriculture
The practice of using land for both agriculture and solar power generation, known as agrivoltaics, is becoming increasingly common in Texas and nationwide. Full Story
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![Sheep graze along a service road at the Enel solar farm Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, in Haskell County.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
Oilfield companies helped to craft Texas’ new waste rules for 2 years before the public got to see them
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. Full Story
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![Christi Craddick, Commissioner of the Texas Railroad Commission, Chairman Wayne Christian, and Commissioner Jim Wright listen during an RRC hearing in the William B. Travis Building in Austin on Nov. 30, 2021.]()
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Texas “Ike Dike” coastal barrier project could cost $57 billion with inflation, Army Corps says
The latest figure is 68% higher than an earlier estimate of $34 billion, and it’s unclear when — or whether — Congress will appropriate the money to build the massive system of gates intended to protect the Houston region from storm surge. Full Story
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![Galveston Beach on March 11, 2021.]()
Credit: Briana Vargas for The Texas Tribune -
As brutal heat tests Texas’ power grid, batteries play a small but growing role in keeping the lights on
This summer, industrial scale batteries have helped boost the energy supply during critical evening hours. Battery storage represents a small fraction of Texas’ energy mix now, but it’s expected to rise sharply in coming years. Full Story
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![An engineer walks past battery banks and inverters at GlidePath's Byrd Ranch energy storage facility in Sweeny, on May 23, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Adrees Latif