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).
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."
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.
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.
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.
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."
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
Founder @ Dearing Group LLC.
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