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EPA Names Houston Largest Municipal Purchaser of Renewable Energy in U.S.

The City of Houston has been designated the number one municipal purchaser of green power and the fourth largest overall purchaser in the nation, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Filed under  //   EPA   houston   renewable+energy   texas  

Texas sign: "Dang good candy"

Filed under  //   texas  

Electric Cars in Texas -- Making Progress

Texas Tribune's Katie Galbraith writes --

"..For individuals, the state has done little to encourage electric cars. In his State of the State speech last year, Gov. Rick Perry voiced support for a $5,000 incentive for Texans buying plug-ins in "non-attainment areas," an Environmental Protection Agency designation meaning the areas failed to meet clean-air standards. Houston, Dallas, Fort-Worth and the Beaumont-Port Arthur area make that list. A state Senate bill last year offered a $4,000 subsidy, but it failed to pass, and its sponsor, Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, has since retired. California — home to more than 1,500 electric vehicles, including 500 Teslas, according to a California electric-car group — gives buyers a tax credit of up to $5,000."

Filed under  //   Austin   electric+vehicles   EVs   texas  

Environmental groups sue Lower Colorado River Authority - Austin Business Journal

Three anti-pollution groups have accused the Lower Colorado River Authority of committing 10,000 violations against the federal Clean Air Act.

The groups— Environmental Integrity Project, Environment Texas and the Texas Campaign for the Environment— warned the Central Texas provider Thursday that they plan to file a lawsuit for alleged infractions at its coal-fired power plant near LaGrange in Fayette County. Two of the plants three units are partly-owned by Austin Energy.

Filed under  //   air+pollution   Austin   austin+business+journal   clean+air   texas  

Why Texas is doing so much better economically than the rest of the nation. [Slate Magazine]

As it has for decades, energy is driving Texas' economy. But it's not because the state's wells are gushing crude. In November 2009, Texas wells produced 1.08 million barrels per day, about half as much as they did in the late 1980s. In recent years, natural gas has been undergoing a renaissance. The state's production rose about 35 percent between 2004 and 2008. And Texas has received a big boost from a different, renewable source of energy: wind.

Filed under  //   energy+industry   texas   wind+energy  

Grants for Renewable Energy Projects in Texas

Approximately $32 million will go to cities, school districts, colleges and universities and other local and state government entities in the first round of grants. More project applications are currently undergoing federal National Environmental Policy Act review.

Filed under  //   grants   green   renewable+energy   texas  

Texas Wind

However, utility officials were forced to curtail wind power generation "because the supply of electricity outstripped the capacity of lines to move the power to urban areas such as Dallas-Fort Worth."

Filed under  //   texas   wind+energy   wind+power  

Houston, We Have Electric Cars | The Big Money

Far better situated are cities like Houston. The grid there is stable, and besides, lots of Texans have garages, making it possible for commuters to put aside their devotion to Ford F-150s and enjoy cheap overnight charges without plunging the city into the dark. The Economist recently argued that Texas is the new California, for reasons along along these lines

Filed under  //   electric+vehicles   EVs   houston   renewable+energy   texas