CenterPoint exudes chaos, but also appears to be restoring power faster than it previously has
According to state filings, the utility is restoring power at a relatively quicker pace than after prior storms. Texans are still fed up. Full Story
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![Electric trucks line up to provide support with major power outages after Hurricane Beryl in Houston, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.]()
Credit: Joseph Bui for The Texas Tribune -
Days after Beryl, Texans toil to cope with debris, heat, rain and no power
More than 1 million Texans still don’t have electricity. For those hardest hit by Beryl, the wait will stretch into next week. Full Story
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![Community members drop off donated goods such as water and food to the Sargent Fire Department on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, in Matagorda County.]()
Credit: Hope Mora for The Texas Tribune -
Texas leaders worry that Bitcoin mines threaten to crash the state power grid
Granbury residents are raising alarms over noise from a local Bitcoin mine, while state lawmakers warn that the energy-hungry facilities risk “crashing” the electrical grid. Full Story
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![Cheryl Shadden in her backyard with Wolf Hollow II in the background on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.]()
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Millions of Texans face third day without power in summer heat
Power companies and Texas officials say restoration efforts could take days. Experts say Texans without electricity are facing a dangerous situation. Full Story
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![Electric workers gather supplies to provide support with major power outages after Hurricane Beryl in Houston, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.]()
Credit: Joseph Bui for The Texas Tribune -
How to make your Texas home more energy efficient and get money from the government
Federal tax incentives are available to weatherize your house and switch to more energy efficient appliances. Rebates are coming. Full Story
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![Solar panels can be seen on the roofs of homes Sunday, July 7, 2024 in East Austin.]()
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Truckers hope protest over pay and lack of restrooms will spark a Permian Basin labor movement
Truckers say they can wait up to 18 hours without pay to load or unload fracking sand. The drilling sites often lack restrooms. Full Story
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![Cesar Adrian Gonzalez Lopez, a driver for Toreados Trucking LLC, a New Mexico based company, poses for a photo Wednesday, June 26, 2024 in Monahans.]()
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Texas to double $5 billion state fund aimed at expanding the power grid
The announcement came soon after a new prediction by the state’s main grid operator that power demands will nearly double by 2030 Full Story
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![Vistra Corp.’s Midlothian Power Plant opened its doors to media on October 15, 2021 to show the plant’s weatherization process. Energy providers like Vistra are preparing their plants for extreme weather conditions following the February winter storm Uri, which disrupted the Texas electric grid and led to the deaths of more than 200 people.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas opens more coastal waters for carbon storage wells
The Gulf Coast is poised to be a major hub for underground disposal of greenhouse gas to mitigate climate change, but questions remain over who will fund it long-term. Full Story
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![Flint Hills Resources, a manufacturer of fuels and chemicals, site in Corpus on Nov. 11, 2021.]()
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Texas electricity demand could nearly double in six years, grid operator predicts
The prediction by ERCOT reflects a new way of counting future demand and a spike in requests to connect to the grid from large power users. Full Story
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![Details of electrical transformers at the Austin Energy/Sand Hill Energy Center
in Del Valle on March 24, 2020.]()
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Despite Texas’ “aggressive” well-plugging program, there’s still a backlog of orphaned oil and gas wells
No state has punched more holes in its bedrock than the Lone Star State. The environmental risks are staggering, and so are the clean up costs, especially in the Permian Basin. Full Story
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![The head of an abandoned well sprouts from the ground on Stuart Carter's cattle ranch in Luling. For years, he has pushed the operator who took over a mineral lease to plug the well. The operator refuses to do so, saying it's not his responsibility.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
Three months after the Texas’ largest wildfire, Panhandle residents are preparing for the next one
Short of an immediate statewide response, Texans who lost homes and livestock are taking matters into their own hands to better prepare their property for a wildfire. Full Story
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![Green grass grows around plants and trees scorched by Smokehouse Creek wildfire on April 3, 2024 near Canadian. “The lands recover faster than the people,” said Janet Guthrie, a Canadian resident who raises cattle in Hemphill Co.]()
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Texas A&M System wants a network of power plants on its land across the state
A new state energy fund will offer low-interest loans to companies that build new power plants. Full Story
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![Electrical power lines near the Austin Energy/Sand Hill Energy Center in Del Valle on March 24, 2020.]()
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Texas company fined $30 million for 2019 chemical explosion near Beaumont
Two explosions at TPC Group’s facility in Port Neches injured workers and triggered the evacuation of more than 50,000 people. Full Story
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![A process tower flies through the air after exploding at the TPC Group Petrochemical Plant, after an earlier massive explosion sparked a blaze at the plant in Port Neches on Nov. 27, 2019.]()
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Texas lizard added to endangered species list over the oil and gas industry’s objections
The dunes sagebrush lizard lives in the same West Texas land that supports the state’s biggest oil and gas fields, and industry leaders say the new designation will hurt drilling and production. Full Story
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![Dunes Sagebrush Lizard.]()
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Photos: Storms toppled transmission towers, downed trees and blew out windows across Houston area
The severe weather caused widespread damage, killed at least four people and left hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without power. Full Story
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![People survey a partially collapsed section of Conejo Malo in downtown, Friday, May 17, 2024, in Houston. (Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing)]()
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Some Houston-area power outages could last weeks after deadly storms cause widespread damage
At least four people were killed and much of the state’s largest city was brought to a standstill. Crews are racing to restore power and remove debris. Full Story
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![Rapper Trae tha Truth, in yellow, cuts fallen tree limbs on top of a car in the aftermath of a severe thunderstorm that passed through downtown Houston on May 16, 2024.]()
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U.S. oil and gas production is booming. So are the industry’s donations to its GOP allies
The biggest recipient of campaign donations from the industry isn’t Donald Trump or President Joe Biden, it’s a Texas House member who represents part of the Permian Basin. Full Story
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![Representative August Pfluger (R-TX) arrives for a meeting with Texas Republicans, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, October 4, 2023. (Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA)No Use Germany.]()
Credit: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect -
“We lost everything”: East Texas residents confront their future after flooding
Dozens of evacuees, including the elderly and barefoot children, crowded in an old school building Friday, praying for clear skies on Monday. Full Story
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![Flooding in downtown Livingston on May 2, 2024. Thousands fled their Southeast Texas homes as heavy rains saturated land in multiple counties.]()
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How the flooding in Southeast Texas got so dire
Since Sunday, multiple rounds of rainfall have soaked the region, causing rivers and creeks to swell and rise out of their banks. Full Story
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![The Lake Livingston Dam is seen releasing water on May 3, 2024, in Livingston. The Southeast Texas reservoir reached capacity during several days of intense rainstorms this week.]()
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Decayed power pole sparked the largest wildfire in state history, Texas House committee confirms
A lack of air support and ineffective coordination hurt efforts to contain this year's Panhandle fires, the committee said. Full Story
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![A building destroyed by fire sits in ashes in the Texas R.V. Park in Fritch, TX. Snow and rainfall on Thursday offered temporary relief to firefighters battling the blaze but weather conditions this weekend may cause the fire to spread again.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune