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Kate Galbraith covered energy and environment for the Tribune from 2010 to 2013. Previously she reported on clean energy for The New York Times from 2008 to 2009, serving as the lead writer for the Times' Green blog. She began her career at The Economist in 2000 and spent 2005 to 2007 in Austin as the magazine's Southwest correspondent. A Nieman fellow in journalism at Harvard University from 2007 to 2008, she has an undergraduate degree in English from Harvard and a master's degree from the London School of Economics. She is co-author of “The Great Texas Wind Rush,” a book about how the oil and gas state won the race to wind power.
With temperatures projected to soar during the final days of August, the state of the Texas electric grid will once again be on policymakers’ minds — though some reliability concerns may be eased since a federal court struck down an EPA rule that could have affected coal plants. Full Story
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At a Senate hearing on Thursday, Texas Public Utility chairwoman Donna Nelson sharply criticized renewable energy incentives, saying that they are “one of the primary causes” of the current strains on the state power grid. Full Story
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The drought that began in October 2010 has continued into 2012, and it has taken a toll on Texas' water supplies. This map shows communities that are at risk of running out of water within 180 days. Full Story
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A Texas farmer's battle to keep the Keystone XL oil pipeline off her property is only the most visible of what some legal experts describe as a rising tide of property-rights cases across Texas. Full Story
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Texas will lose about 1 percent of its power supply over the winter and spring as Luminant temporarily shuts two units at its 1970s-era Monticello coal plant. The company blamed low power prices. Full Story
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Texas lags in solar-power development, and lawmakers have been reluctant to promote it with incentives. Nonetheless, solar power can play a role in aiding Texas’ strained electric grid, industry officials and regulators said at a meeting in San Antonio. Full Story
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UPDATED: Al Armendariz, a former EPA regional administrator, said a court's ruling overturning the EPA's cross-state pollution rule "only delays the inevitable." Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott called the ruling a "victory for federalism." Full Story
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The former EPA regional administrator on his decision to resign, why he joined the Sierra Club and why he views climate change as the biggest environmental problem facing Texas. Full Story
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A small number of Texas homeowners are signed up to help the electric grid when it is strained, by allowing their air conditioners to cycle off briefly during the hottest afternoons. It’s a concept that regulators in Austin are eager to spread. Full Story
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Texas likes to be No. 1 at everything. But the state is last when it comes to the reliability of our electrical system, according to a recent assessment by an outside group. Can higher prices and conservation solve the problem? Full Story
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