Statement of Tom “Smitty” Smith:
We are shocked to hear the news that former Austin Energy and Pedernales Electric Cooperative General Manager Juan Garza has taken a job promoting nuclear power with New Jersey-based NRG Energy. While Garza rightfully acknowledges the danger climate change poses to Texas, nuclear power’s life cycle carbon footprint, exorbitant cost and extreme construction time belie the claim that nuclear is a solution to the climate crisis.
Numerous independent analyses warn that new nuclear reactors are too expensive, including consultants to the City of Austin who twice recommended the city pass on investment in the proposed South Texas Project units 3 and 4 due to high risk and cost. San Antonio’s CPS Energy has cut off investment in the project. Municipal utilities and electric cooperatives should take heed of the nuclear industry’s poor track record of delivering new reactors on time and on budget. The cost of these reactors has more than trebled in three years and when we built the first two units they were 6 times over budget and 8 years late. There are cheaper, cleaner, faster ways to meet new power needs in a carbon-constrained world.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Co-op Reform, Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, Nuclear, Renewables | Tagged Austin Energy, Juan Garza, nrg energy, South Texas Project, Texas, Tom "Smitty" Smith |
Image via Wikipedia
We’ve got an Action Alert! This week, hundreds of people from Corpus Christi and across Texas will be calling the Environmental Protection Agency to ask them to ensure that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is complying with the Federal Clean Air Act. To protect our air, our water, our earth, and our health, we are going to make our voices heard!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbWcTuvHwS8]
Under the federal Clean Air Act, the EPA has the power to intervene in any permitting process to make sure that polluters are complying with the law.
In the case of the Las Brisas Energy Center, the situation is critical and we need the EPA to step in. Pollution will increase by 82%, they’ll dump 220 pounds of mercury a year, the plant will use 3 million gallons of water a day, and Nueces and San Patricio Counties will almost certainly reach ozone non-attainment levels, which means pricey smog-checks for everybody and a rollback of production for local industries.
So, we’ve decided to call the EPA’s enforcement offices. We have two sample scripts for you to help you out, and remember: don’t be nervous! They are nice people, so don’t forget to smile (even though they can’t see you) and say thanks!
Call Gina McCarthy, head of enforcement at the EPA at 202-564-7404. If she’s not there, leave a message!
Script:
Concerned citizen (that’s you): “Hello Ms. McCarthy, my name is ___, and I’d like to bring an important issue to your attention.”
EPA: “Sure, go right ahead.”
Concerned Citizen:
1) “I am really concerned with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s permitting process on the Las Brisas Energy Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. I am worried about pollution in our air, our water, and our soil. I am calling to ask that the EPA intervene and ensure that the the permit complies with the Federal Clean Air Act. Thank you for your time.”
OR
2) “I have a real problem with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s permitting process as it considers whether to grant the Las Brisas Energy Center an air permit for its proposed petroleum coke plant in Corpus Christi, Texas. TCEQ officials have expressly stated that a case by case MACT analysis is not needed for this plant. I know that means that TCEQ is letting Las Brisas pollute at greater quantities into my area and with less oversight. I am calling to ask that the EPA intervene and ensure that the permit complies with the Federal Clean Air Act. Thank you for your time.”
You just did a good deed! Pat yourself on the back, email this to your friends, and stay tuned by checking out Public Citizen on Facebook, www.TexasGreenReport.org, Texas Sierra Club on Facebook, and @TexasSierraClub on Twitter.
By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Coal, Energy, Global Warming, Toxics | Tagged Action alert, Air Quality, coal plant, Federal Clean Air Act, public citizen texas, Sierra Club, Texas, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, United States Environmental Protection Agency |
For those in Austin who don’t know, the EGRSO (the Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services Office… I had to look it up too) gets a substantial portion of its funding from the municipally-owned utility Austin Energy. What does this office do? From its city website:
[The EGRSO] implements the City of Austin Economic Development Policy as directed by the Austin City Council.
Essentially, the office provides grants and loans of city funds or services in order to promote economic development. Among its awardees are Facebook, LegalZoom, Heliovolt, Friday Night Lights, and the Home Depot Austin Technology Center.
Recently, the Electric Utility Commission voted unanimously to cut AE’s funding of the EGRSO, citing the fact that AE faces tough budget choices inside its own walls. Commissioner Shudde Fath wrote in the Business Journal that AE can no longer be the city’s cash cow.
EUC Chairman Phillip Schmandt released a statement on the matter yesterday:
I applaud EGRSO and its programs. There are many great ideas in EGROS’ $10 Million budget.
But not every great idea should be funded with government money.
And more to the point, not every great idea should be funded from utility bills paid by our hard working customers who are struggling to make ends meet every month. Continue Reading »
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Good Government | Tagged austin city council, Austin Energy, EGRSO, electric utility commission, facebook, Friday Night Lights, heliovolt, Home Depot, LegalZoom, phillip schmandt, Texas |
Republicans keep rejecting the success of the stimulus package but that is nothing new, being opposed is just a Republican thing to do nowadays. President Obama said yesterday that even if he said the sky is blue, Republicans would disagree. Despite all that, in Texas, the stimulus seems to serve its purpose just fine, especially in the field of energy. Unlike what Republicans claim, it has provided incentives for small businesses with incentives to grow, save money, and it has also helped create jobs.
The Austin American Statesman shared a couple of stories about small businesses that have benefited from the stimulus. First is the Dog Ranch in Pflugerville. The owners wanted to install solar panels atop the ranch roof, a move they figured would save them some money on energy bills. The panel cost $87,000. With the stimulus funds(Grants from the Department of Energy) the owners received and Austin Energy’s rebate program, they only had to pay $10,000. For the Ranch owners, this deal saved them a lot of money since they only pay one third of the energy bill they used to pay before installing the panels in addition to the tax credit they get from installing the panels, “We just expanded in December, and we wouldn’t otherwise have had capitol to do it,” Said the Dog Ranch owner.
Longhorn Solar is the installation company that set up the Dog Ranch solar panels. The company too has taken advantage of the stimulus money and now it has 10 employees and many more installation projects. Louis Petrik, the CEO of Longhorn Solar said “It (the Stimulus) allows us to put a lot of jobs in the pipeline and go out and actively hire,”
A part of the stimulus money was given to states to have at their disposal to run their own programs (And they say the Feds want to take over local governments). To track the federal stimulus funds, the Texas Legislature appointed the Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding. According to its website, The Committee “monitor[s] actions of the federal government, including legislation and regulations, related to efforts to promote economic recovery by providing federal funds to the states.”
On September 1st, the Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing in Corpus Christi where major stimulus fund recipients such as Centerpoint Energy and Iberdrola Renewables presented in what project they are using the stimulus money and how they are going about meeting their goals. Documents from the hearing are provided on the Texas Stimulus Funds website or you can access them by clicking here.
Posted in Efficiency, Energy, green jobs, Renewables, solar | Tagged doe, economy, green economy, green jobs, jobs, Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding, solar energy, SOLAR PANEL, stimulus, Texas, TEXAS STIMULUS FUNDS |
September 2, 2010 by Citizen Carol
The following blog was posted on Public Citizen’s energy blog by Tyson Slocum
Another Rig Explosion in the Gulf of Mexico
Here’s what we know: On the morning of Thursday, Sept. 2, an oil and gas rig owned by Mariner Energy, Inc., operating in about 340 feet of water on the continental shelf experienced an explosion and subsequently caught fire, resulting in all 13 workers on board to flee into the water.
This incident is different from BP’s Mancondo disaster because BP’s fiasco occurred on a floating rig operating an exploration well in ultra-deepwater a mile deep, whereas this Mariner Energy operation was in shallow water (340 ft) on a rig that is permanently fixed to the ocean floor below (and not a floating rig).
While we wait for details, here are two things to think about:
1. In June the Obama administration unveiled new, tougher rules for shallow drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The question is: Have federal inspectors personally reviewed this Mariner Energy facility, and what were the results of all certifications and tests of this particular facility?
2. Here’s what we know about Mariner Energy: In January 2004, the private equity funds Carlyle/Riverstone and Texas Pacific Group purchased Mariner Energy from Enron for $271 million and took the company public in March 2005. Carlyle/Riverstone then exited as an investor, but Texas Pacific Group, through its ACON Investments subsidiary, still has significant interests, with ACON’s Bernard Aronson and Jonathan Ginns both serving on Mariner’s board.
Mariner’s Enron legacy continues, as the company’s Chairman, CEO and President is Scott D. Josey, who served as VP of Enron North America from 2000-02. At the time, Enron was engaged in one of the biggest corporate rip-offs in history, stealing billions of dollars from West Coast energy consumers. Jesus G. Melendrez is Mariner’s CFO and he served as a VP with Enron North America from 2000-03. Mariner’s General Counsel, Teresa G. Bushman, worked as a lawyer with Enron from 1996-2003.
Public Citizen revealed that Mariner Energy has escaped paying more than $44 million in royalties because it has legally been producing oil and gas from Gulf of Mexico leases royalty-free.
On Aug. 11, 2007, the federal government fined Mariner Energy $30,000 after an employee “fell 11 feet.”
Earlier reports claimed the platform was not in production, but this AP report indicates that, according to a homeland security operational update, the platform is a fixed petroleum platform that was in production at the time of the fire, and that the platform was producing about 58,800 gallons of oil and 900,000 cubic feet of gas per day. The platform can store 4,200 gallons of oil.
Posted in Energy | Tagged bp, Energy, Enron, gulf of mexico, Mariner, Mariner Energy, oil platform explosion, Texas |
Recently, I learned about a good website that tracks the flow of corporate energy money in Congress. The website is a great tool for someone who is interested in knowing who gets what from who and if you are a Texan you will get to see your state initials in many places in the website. The website ranks Congressmen according to how much money they receive from dirty energy corporations but unlike Texas’ football rankings, these rankings don’t make me proud.
There are many key findings in the website and the numbers are staggering. Besides listing the “dirtiest politicians,” Dirty Energy Money lists “Dirtiest Congresses,” and “Big-Spending Companies.” So far, this 111th Congress has only collected about 14 million dollars in contributions from dirty energy companies which are much less than the 22 million contributed to the 110th Congress but 2010 is not over yet.
Dirty Energy Money also compares the funds received by both parties from the different energy industries. It also compares votes on major energy legislation while showing how much money the Yeas received verses the Nay’s.
Visit the website, you will find many revealing facts about the two parties, Congress, companies, and the politicians involved. It is definitely a good resource for you to look at before you cast you vote in November.
By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Campaign Finance, Coal, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government | Tagged 111th congress, bp, campaign contributions, Campaign Finance, campaign finance reform, Congress, dirty energy, dirty energy money, dirty oil, Joe Barton, john cornyn, kay bailey hutchinson, oil companies, Texas |
Some great points from the director of Environmental Defense Fund‘s Texas Regional Office (and Energy Program), Jim Marston.
If you’re concerned about government spending, consolidating existing efficiency programs and oversight into one agency has the potential to reduce overlap and redundancy in government and create more opportunities for consumers and businesses to save money. Continue Reading »
Posted in Consumers, Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government | Tagged efficiency agency, Energy Efficiency, environmental defense fund, Jim Marston, PUCT, state energy conservation office, Texas, texas comptroller, texas department of housing and community affairs |
August 28, 2010 by Adrian Shelley
Long thought to be the last commodity that can’t be saved for later use, large scale electrical energy storage is finally looking like a technology who’s time might have come.
Recently introduced the “Storage Technology of Renewable and Green Energy Act of 2010” Act (S. 3617) introduced by U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) stands to finally get things moving in the energy storage development space.
To go along with that, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality announced that they are taking applications for a Texas Emissions Reduction Program (TERP) new technology implementation grant (NTIG) on energy storage based on a bill that got passed last session (yes they did pass a few bills last session). Anyone that needs a cool 3 mil to get a project off the ground should consider applying as applications are due by September 17 and, if congress can get their act together, there might be a 20% tax credit to sweeten the pot.
Energy storage has been called the holy grail of renewable’s by members of the Leg and could potentially solve a bunch of technical issues on the Texas electrical grid depending on the technology implemented. Compressed air storage, fast acting flywheels, super conducting magnetic loops and all sort of different batteries each provide a different solution to various problems.
Grid stabilization is one that needs to be looked at in the near future. Using solid state electronics these storage solutions can react in fractions of a second (and less then one of the 60 cycles per second our electrical system runs on) to smooth the flow of electrons from the generator to your home and business and reducing the speed that a gas generator needs to react to an increase or decrease in load on the electrical grid.
Large scale storage will allow wind (which blows mostly at night in Texas) and solar to be stored and used when the energy is most needed (all though solar produces most of its energy at peak load already). Batteries, suitably placed like the one EET built in Presidio can reduce the need to build new transmission lines and substations. Lets hope our Legislators (both in Texas and at the federal level) can do something to move this new technology along. It can support the increasing amount of renewable’s we need to build, stabilize our electrical system and reduce emissions by making renewable energy available when we need it, and providing fast acting response when the grid needs a little extra juice, rather than firing up another gas turbine, or help us, a coal plant.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Efficiency, Energy, natural gas, Renewables | Tagged compressed air energy storage, Energy, Energy Efficiency, energy storage, flywheel energy storage, public citizen texas, renewable energy, Renewables, solar power, Texas, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality |
August 27, 2010 by Citizen Carol
South Texas Project
Human error appears to have caused a partial shutdown last Friday at the South Texas Project, one of the state’s two nuclear plants.
Last week, prices spiked in the wholesale electricity market. On Monday the 16th, wholesale electricity, which had been selling for less than $30 per megawatt-hour spiked to more than $2,000. That’s an increase of more than 7,000 percent. Prices also spiked several times to the $1,000 level. A price spike of $2,200 is especially startling, given that the regulatory cap is set at $2,250. That is, the wholesale prices legally could not have gone much higher. At the same time, according to the Electric Reliabiilty Council of Texas (ERCOT), who manages the Texas electricity grid, a new record for statewide power use was set.
Then, to top off the week, Unit 1 of the South Texas Project apparently tripped off (also known in the industry as a SCRAM – an acronym for safety control rod axe man but which is essentially an emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor).
The event, first reported in a trade journal SNL Power Daily, was apparently caused by human error. “The NRC said in its Aug. 23 event report that the unit experienced an automatic reactor trip that was caused by an inadvertent turbine signal initiated during testing,” reported SNL’s Jay Hodgkins, citing the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The publication reported that power was restored by Monday. It’s unclear whether the outage contributed to the price spikes, although that seems likely.
I guess I’ll take a contribution to a price spike over a meltdown any day, but still kind of scarey!
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Energy, Nuclear | Tagged Electicity price spike, Energy, Human error, Nuclear, Nuclear Power, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, SCRAM, South Texas Nuclear Generating Station, South Texas Project, Texas |
August 27, 2010 by Citizen Carol
Live downwind from the Barnett Shale ?
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality posted an interactive map of the Barnett Shale on its website that allows you to see the latest data from the various air quality monitoring sites near natural gas drilling and pipeline facilities.
Barnett Shale Air Sampling Map Viewer
Be forwarned however that the information contained on this website is not for the faint of heart or the casual internet surfer. Those who venture through the maze that is the TCEQ website, without much beyond a basic familiarity of the terms associated with measuring the sundry compounds that can escape from gas operation facilities, might find themselves challenged to understand what the map offers.
TCEQ has been under pressure from North Texas lawmakers and from various interest groups to provide the public with as much information as possible about how gas operations in the urbanized Barnett Shale might be affecting air quality. And the introduction of the map comes just four days after the chairmen of the House and Senate committees that oversee environmental regulations prompted the agency to more than double the number of air monitoring sites in the Barnett Shale.
TCEQ also announced today that it plans to hold an open house in the Barnett Shale area in October that will feature interactive displays and presentations where residents can learn about specific regulatory activities in the area. Details about when and where the open house will take place are not yet available but we will let you know as soon as we know.
TCEQ has said that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency evaluated its monitoring operations in the tiny town of Dish and found no reason to doubt the validity of the test results.
Feeling adventurous? Want to to spend part of your weekend wandering around virtually through the new interactive map? Click here.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Air Quality, Energy, natural gas | Tagged Air Quality, Barnett shale, dallas, dfw, environment, environmental quality, fort worth, natural gas, TCEQ, Texas, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality |
In Winter of 2008 a coal ash slurry pond in Tennessee broke its damn, contaminating miles of downstream waterways and people’s homes with deadly carcinogens and other toxic substances. At the time it was called the worst environmental disaster since the Exxon Valdez and brought a wake up call to the EPA that this waste product was entirely under-regulated. EPA now stands poised to set new regulations on coal ash waste, but the coal industry is lobbying strenuously against it, advocating for a much weaker standard that will do little to change the status quo.
The Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) has just released a report called In Harm’s Way which takes a look at groundwater contamination surrounding coal ash waste sites throughout the country. The report showed that contaminants at 39 coal-waste sites across 21 states have leached into the groundwater. Many coal ash sites did not have enough data available to show any meaningful results, particularly here in Texas, but the Fayette coal plant (which Austin is a partial owner in) showed considerable contamination beneath their site. Adam Engelman, Environmental Analyst with EIP, stated that:
At every one of the coal ash dump sites equipped with groundwater monitoring wells — concentrations of heavy metals such as arsenic or lead exceed federal health-based standards for drinking water, with concentrations at LCRA’s Fayette Power Project reaching as high as 4 times the state standard for selenium and twice the state standard for arsenic.
The report shows that coal ash itself is a disaster simply by existing, regardless of catastrophic events like what happened in Tennessee almost two years ago. EPA must not give into industry lobbyists and pass weak regulations that will fail public health and the environment. Visit Sierra Club’s Coal Ash website for information on an EPA hearing near you, and to sign up to speak at the hearings. If you cannot make the hearings you can also submit online comments here – be sure to ask EPA to adopt the strictest regulations possible.
In order to make a profit, coal companies rely on making the public pay for the damage they cause. We should no longer have to bear the cost of their mistakes and irresponsibility.
You can see the EIP report here and you can see the press conference that was held Thursday in Austin here:
or by going to the Texas House of Representatives video archive and clicking on the link dated 8/26/10 with the same title.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Coal, Energy, Global Warming, Toxics | Tagged ash, Austin, climate change, Coal, coal ash waste, EIP, environmental integrity project, EPA, Global Warming, Public Citizen, public citizen texas, report, study, Texas, waste |
Rep. Patrick Rose this morning had an opinion piece printed regarding transparency reforms at the Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) , echoing similar criticism from the Austin American Statesman last week. I’m not saying I agree with every word Rep. Rose wrote here in this morning’s San Marcos Local News, but this shows that this will likely be an issue in the upcoming Legislative Session. As a bit of history, Rep. Rose (D-Dripping Springs) and Senator Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay), both of whom are members of the co-op, tried to pass a bill to increase transparency at PEC last session, but that ultimately failed when, as with so many other issues, it got killed by Voter ID.
As an aside and for full transparency’s (ha!) sake, Rep. Rose is also my State Representative and I have to give him a big hat tip for the work he has done in working to reform the PEC, as that work directly affects the electric bills my family and neighbors pay every month.
Commentary
By PATRICK ROSE
District 45 State Representative
Our three-county district is served entirely by electric co-ops and municipally owned systems. I believe that public power has served our area well and kept costs lower than other energy providers across the state. As we continue our efforts to protect and grow jobs in our region, energy affordability is key. This is one of the many reasons why I am committed to a strong and transparent Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC).
On Monday, Senator Troy Fraser (R-Marble Falls) and I spoke at the August meeting of the PEC board of directors. I appreciate every opportunity to meet with the board and co-op members about our reform efforts.
My remarks were focused on my strong disapproval of the board’s latest mistake that cost co-op members $1 million, firing its general manager days before the election of two new board members. In June, PEC seated its first ever 100 percent democratically elected board. This decision could have and should have waited until the new board members, duly elected by the members, were sworn in.
The two outgoing directors were part of the legacy board that allowed for and participated in the mismanagement and corruption at PEC that was brought to light over the last few years. They should not have been part of any decision that impacts the future of PEC. At the meeting, I repeatedly asked Larry Landaker, PEC’s board president, to explain why he and two other board members joined forces with the last two legacy members. He could not answer the question, and furthermore, he admitted that the board did not have cause for the firing, thus costing co-op members $1 million.
These actions are unacceptable and show the irresponsibility and lack of transparency that justify legislation. What co-op members can count on, regardless of the makeup of the PEC board or who is general manager, is that Sen. Fraser and I are committed to transparency and openness at our cooperative. The legislature will reconvene in January and we will proceed with our effort to statutorily protect members’ rights. Continue Reading »
Posted in Co-op Reform, Energy, Good Government | Tagged Energy, Juan Garza, My Energy Coop, Patrick Rose, pec, pec scandal, Pedernales, pedernales electric coop, pedernales electric cooperative, public citizen texas, Texas, troy fraser |
August 25, 2010 by Citizen Carol
Image via Wikipedia
In a message from the State Bar President Terry Tottenham to members of the Bar, he reminds attorney’s in this State that there are important changes being considered to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct (TDRPC) and that the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors is conducting a series of public education hearings on proposed amendments to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.
The Board of the State Bar has created an online clearinghouse of information regarding the proposed rule changes at www.texasbar.com/ethics. The site includes:
- the revised proposed amendments and interpretive comments (click here for PDF)
- a redlined version of the proposed changes (click here for PDF)
- an overview of the process and summary of significant changes written by the Court’s rules attorney (click here for PDF)
The site will be updated with audio recordings of the public education hearings and other relevant information. Lawyers and members of the public are encouraged to post comments.
Changes to the disciplinary rules will affect all Texas lawyers and their clients . Many organizations, including Public Citizen, as well as individuals have weighed in on the proposed amendments. We believe that the public has not been adequately informed of opportunities to comment and that the proposed amendments run counter to the public interest. Click here for an open letter from our director, Tom “Smitty” Smith. Click here for the comments Public Citizen submitted to the Texas Supreme Court regarding the proposed amendments. Click here for links to other comments the State Bar has received.
The State Bar Board of Directors will discuss the proposed TDRPC amendments and any recommendations or comments during the board’s quarterly meeting in Clear Lake on Oct. 1, 2010.
If you have questions about the proposed amendments or the State Bar’s public-education process, or if you wish to submit written comments, please contact Ray Cantu at (512) 427-1506 or rcantu@texasbar.com.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Global Warming, Good Government | Tagged Bar association, Law, Lawyer, Organizations, public citizen texas, State Bar of Texas, Supreme Court of the United States, Texas, United States |
August 20, 2010 by Adrian Shelley
Local energy storage company Xtream Power inks a deal to supply the Tres Amigas project with their technology. CH2M, another firm with central Texas connections (who has been hiring some of Austins finest green talent) lands the construction contract. Will local green engineers Kurt Lyell (one of the original founders of Austin Bio-fuels) or John Hoffner (KOOP radio Shades of Green) be working on this gem?
CH2M Hill lands contract for managing construction on the project. Will one grid rule them all?
A 22.5-sq.-mile site in the small town of Clovis, New Mexico is the only place in the United States where the three grids that service the western states, some eastern states, and the entire state of Texas all meet.
TresAmigas Superstation
Sort of. The three grids come close to each other, but they aren’t connected. This prevents electricity from being transferred between the Eastern Interconnection (which services states like New York), the Western Interconnection (which services states like California), and the Texas Interconnection (well, this one is obvious). In that sense, it’s like the nation’s fragmented roads in the 1950s, before the Interstate Highway System linked the country.
With Tres Amigas, California conceivably will be able to siphon off excess wind capacity from Texas. At the current juncture, that is physically impossible. The transmission structure doesn’t exist and energy storage technologies — flow batteries, compressed air, sodium batteries — aren’t yet economical enough to start planting them en masse in the desert.
CH2M Hill is overseeing the construction of Tres Amigas SuperStation, a project that will change all that. The project will connect the entire power grid across America for the first time. The initial phase of the project will cost $600 million, but the hub is expected to make money by buying and selling electricity to utilities (and could make some $4 billion in revenue every year).
In the last 20 years, blackouts have increased to 124 percent in the United States. Smart grids could predict a potential outage and send electricity to the places where it is needed. Continue Reading »
Posted in Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, green jobs, Renewables | Tagged Austin, Energy, energy storage, green jobs, public citizen texas, renewable energy, Texas |
August 16, 2010 by Adrian Shelley
Oncor wants to get some home energy monitors in the field to see how they work and get customer feedback. There are a limited number available, so you would need to act fast to have a chance at one. There are a couple of qualifications, of course.
First you must live in the Oncor service territory. Oncor is the “poles and wires” part of the DFW-area electrical system, not the Retail Electric Provider. (Their general area is in the DFW area but they reach into east and central Texas, as well as some other areas.)
Second, you must have an active smart meter. These are the new meters that Oncor has been deploying, you should have received a door hanger when you had your meter changed out, and the meter must be active. You can check on the Smart Meter Texas website to see if your meter is active.
Here is the information found in the flier that they are distributing:
“Act Now! You may be eligible to receive a free in-home energy monitor!
Oncor is giving away up to 500 FREE In-Home Energy Monitors through the end of the year. The monitor interacts with smart meters and
allows electric customers to monitor energy consumption in a real-time basis. You may be eligible to receive a FREE In-Home Monitor* by
taking the following steps:
1. You must have an active smart meter. You may verify this by logging on to the Texas smart meter web portal at www.smartmetertexas.com and sign up to view your energy usage.
2. Email us at hansupport@oncor.com with “Free IHM Request” in the subject line of the email. We simply need your name, ESI ID number,
which can be found on your electric bill, email address and the address for us to mail the device.
This FREE offer is part of Oncor’s Smart Meter Verification Plan. If you have questions about the program, please contact Lauren Davis at
214.486.5306
*While Supplies Last
This is a limited offer so if you have a new smart meter and are interested in you real time energy consumption here is an opportunity to get a free in-home display and participate in the initial roll out of this new program to help save energy.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, green jobs | Tagged conservation, dfw, energy conservation, energy reduction, in home monitor, oncor, public citizen texas, Real time energy display, smart meter, Texas |
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