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February 8, 2010

NEW REGIONAL EPA CHIEF SAYS AGENCY WILL BE ACTIVE IN BARNETT SHALE

Community activists heartened at recent meeting, but industry rep says drilling activity is safe.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys new regional chief for Texas and surrounding states is warning that the federal agency under President Obama will be paying closer attention to how drilling in the Barnett Shale affects air and water quality.

Al Armendariz, a former geology professor at Dallas’ Southern Methodist University who took over this month as the EPA’s administrator for Region 6, told a community group in Fort Worth last week that changes were on the way.

“The EPA today is completely different than it was a year ago,” Armendariz said at a meeting of the North Central Texas Community Alliance. He added the agency would be examining possible new rules on emission levels in the Barnett Shale and a detailed study on the effect shale fracturing has on underground water supplies.

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By John Moritz

Al Armendariz, EPA Region 6 administrator

February 5, 2010

AUSTIN TO HOST RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD CONFERENCE

5,000 expected at late February event that will feature speeches by head of FERC, and PUC Chairman Smitherman.

Austin will host the seventh annual Renewable Energy Conference and Expo this month where as many as 5,000 industry and government leaders will trade ideas, show off products and representatives from Texas brag how its restructured electric market has helped fuel the green energy industry.

“Texas has a business and political climate friendly to the development of independent generation with minimal permit requirements for new generation and a robust transmission system that is significantly expanding its transmission grid … to accommodate the rapid expansion of wind energy in West Texas, as well as solar and biomass generation throughout ERCOT,” a promotional brochure for a Feb. 22 pre-conference workshop says.

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By John Moritz

February 4, 2010

PHIL KING SEES OBAMA’S CARBON TASK FORCE AS TROJAN HORSE

State rep calls it a ploy to impose cap and trade, but defenders say it will spur development of vital technology.

The author of the bill passed last year to provide up to $100 million in tax breaks for companies that can develop carbon-capturing coal plants in Texas is taking a skeptical stance on President Obamas formation of a task force to find ways to advance clean coal technologies on a national level.

“I guess I take a conspiratorial approach to this, but I think what he’s doing is looking for ways to develop a cap-and-trade system without going through the legislative process,” state Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford) told the Texas Energy Report this afternoon.

When King pushed House Bill 469, the so-called “clean coal bill,” through both chambers and on to the governor’s desk last session he made no attempt to conceal the fact that he considered all the concern over global climate change much ado about very little.

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By John Moritz

Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford)

February 4, 2010

BURNAM SAYS TCEQ LOW-BALLED BARNETT SHALE AIR RESULTS

Agency says it looks forward to working with officials and residents to address all concerns.

State Rep. Lon Burnam today said the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality likely underestimated the amount of toxic emissions from gas drilling operations in the Barnett Shale when the state agency released its long-awaited air quality tests last week.

The Fort Worth Democrat, whose inner-city district is replete with drilling-related activity, suggested that the agency’s air samples were taken during periods of low production, which could have skewed the results.

“I commend the TCEQ for its extensive report, but careful review of the findings yields some disturbing conclusions,” Burnam said. “It also leaves many crucial questions unanswered.”

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By John Moritz

State Rep. Lon Burnam

February 3, 2010

LOUISIANA COMPANY SAYS TEXAS WILL BENEFIT FROM ITS GEOTHERMAL PLANT

Vast hot brine deposits straddle both states.

The head of a family-owned Louisiana energy company says that a project his firm is building to generate geothermal power from vast pressurized brine deposits below Cameron Parish will likely help power part of the Texas grid.

George Jordan, whose grandfather in East Texas started the company now called Louisiana Geothermal, said the project is about two years away from uploading what he hope will be about five megawatts of power. But the company received a substantial boost last year when the U.S. Department of Energy awarded it $5 million in federal stimulus money to help get the ball rolling.

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By Texas Energy Report

February 3, 2010

AECT SAYS TEXAS PLANTS CLEANER THAN NATION’S AS A WHOLE

Web-based graphic shows state’s NOX, SO2 emissions trending downward.

The Association of Electric Companies of Texas is boasting that electric generating plants in the Lone Star State on average are outpacing most of their counterparts around the nation on the clean and green front.

AECT today posted a Web-based slide show demonstrating that nitrogen oxide, or NOX, emissions from Texas plants declined over the past decade and a half and remain much lower than the national average.

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By John Moritz

February 2, 2010

TXOGA, TAM PUSH BACK AGAINST PROPOSED SMOG STANDARDS BY EPA

Meanwhile, Obama signals that cap-and-trade might be dead in the Senate energy bill.

Energy and manufacturing groups today pushed back against what they called the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “continually changing” air quality standards saying they create a climate of unpredictability that could undermine efforts to create jobs even as the economy is showing new vigor.

The comments came as part of testimony at the EPA’s all-day public hearing in Houston aimed at reducing smog and ozone levels. Last month, the federal agency announced that it was proposing the strictest health standards ever to combat ground-level ozone, saying that it is linked to health problems, ranging from aggravation of asthma to increased risk of premature death in people with heart or lung disease.

The action also pretty much ensured that Texas’ major urban centers and even some of its populated outlying areas would find themselves in non-attainment of the new standards.

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By John Moritz

February 2, 2010

RENEWABLES ADVOCATE RESPONDS TO SEBREE

John Pitts Jr. says incentives for solar and other projects serve to broaden the entire energy portfolio.

In Yesterday Buzz, we presented Texas Oil and Gas Association lobbyist Ben Sebree’s take on plans by the Obama Administration to tax traditional energy companies more and offer more breaks to developers of alternative fuel sources.

Today, John Pitts Jr., a solar developer and chairman of the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association Policy Committee, offers his response. Pitts emphasized that his remarks should not be construed as a slap against oil and gas, but as a pitch for the broadest possible portfolio.

His remarks:

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By John Moritz

February 1, 2010

LITTLE SUPPORT FOR PERRY’S IDEA TO CONSOLIDATE RAILROAD COMMISSION AND PUC

Governor’s aide says suggestion that came up in Friday’s debate was more “what if” than “let’s go.”

During Friday night’s Republican gubernatorial debate, Gov. Rick Perry said in response to a question that it might be time to consider merging the state’s two most prominent energy-regulating agencies as a way to stretch taxpayers’ dollars and streamline the bureaucracy.

“I would consider bringing together agencies like the PUC and the Railroad Commission,” Perry said on the Dallas stage he was sharing with U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and GOP activist Debra Medina. “I think those are some areas where you could consolidate and save some money in the state budget.”

Neither rival commented directly on the notion, though Hutchison agreed that some unspecified consolidations should be considered as the state steams toward the 2011 legislation session with a projected shortfall ranging from $11 billion $19 billion in its sights.

But Perry’s suggestion appears to have little support in the energy sector, and this afternoon a spokeswoman made clear that the governor was playing more “what if” than “let’s go” on the notion of a two-agency merger.

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By John Moritz

February 1, 2010

TXOGA WEIGHS IN ON THE ADMINISTRATION’S PLANS FOR ENERGY SECTOR

Response is predictable, but presented with more than a little pizzazz.

It’s no surprise that there’s little support in the Texas energy sector for the proposed tax increases aimed at the oil and gas industries in the federal budget proposed today by President Obama.

But the quote offered up on the matter by Texas Oil and Gas Association vice president Ben Sebree was just too pithy to go unreported. Here’s what he had to say:

“It’s our opinion that the Obama Administration and the congressional leadership want to do by government fiat that which will not happen in the marketplace, which is to by regulation and taxation raise the price of all energy from hydrocarbons so high that their preferred anointed alternatives will be able to compete.”

We certainly recognize that the environmental sector takes a wholly different view in the debate between traditional energy sources and renewable energy sources, and that Sebree’s quote, lyrical as it may be, will not be the final word on the matter. So stay tuned.

By John Moritz

February 1, 2010

PROPOSED BYLAWS MAKE CLEAR PEDERNALES IS A “DEMOCRACY”

Troubled co-op says it wants transparency and openness in all of its official transactions.

In its ongoing effort to put to rest the fallout from its recent financial and mismanagement scandals, the Pedernales Electric Cooperative has posted online the proposed bylaws that will be up for the governing board’s consideration on Wednesday.

The proposed preamble makes clear that the member-owned co-ops “is a democratic organization” and that its bylaws are to be “liberally construed” to ensure accountability and transparency in all of its transactions.

For a full view of the proposed bylaws, click here.

By John Moritz

January 29, 2010

DUKE ENERGY BUYS 215,000-PANEL SOLAR FARM BEING BUILT IN SAN ANTONIO

Company’s first venture in commercial-scale solar comes after development of 3 Texas wind farms.

A Colorado company is selling its planned utility-scale solar project in San Antonio, but the sale is not expected to delay plans to bring the 16-megawatt facility on line by the end of the year.

The 139-acre park called the Blue Wing Solar Project is being built by juwi solar of Boulder, Colo, near Interstate 37 and U.S. Highway 181 will be purchased by Duke Energy Generation Services of Charlotte, N.C.  It will be the company’s first foray into commercial solar power. It also has three wind-generating facilities in Texas

The purchase price was not disclosed.

“Demand for power from renewable resources continues to rise,” said Keith Trent, group executive and president of Duke Energy’s Commercial Businesses. “Our entry into the commercial solar power industry reaffirms Duke Energy’s commitment to generating emissions-free electricity for customers.”

The deal includes juwi’s 30-year to sell all of the output from the solar farm and any associated renewable energy credits to San Antonio-based CPS Energy, one of the nation’s largest municipality-owned utilities.

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By John Moritz

January 29, 2010

RRC RELEASES LATEST PERMIT AND PRODUCTION STATISTICS

In our Press Release section.

By John Moritz

January 28, 2010

LAST-MINUTE CONDITION COMPLICATES DEAL FOR CLEAN COAL PLANT

Odessa council requires Summit to escrow the $5 million included in city’s incentive package to protect local taxpayers.

An unexpected eleventh-hour condition that was placed on the incentive package the Odessa Development Corp. was offering Washington State-based Summit Power Group to build its state-of-the-art coal plant in Ector County could have jeopardized the $1.7 billion project.

The development corporation, funded by a quarter-cent local sales tax, on Monday agreed to offer Summit $5 million plus a 600-acre tract of land to sweeten the company’s plans to build a 400-megawatt plant capable of capturing and sequestering 90 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions while reducing other pollutants.

But when the deal went before the Odessa City Council the next night for what was assumed would be routine ratification, new terms were added. Instead of a direct cash transfer, the council required Summit to either put up a $5 million letter of credit or put the cash in an escrow account to give city taxpayers a cushion in case the project took a nosedive.

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By John Moritz

Laura Miller

January 27, 2010

TCEQ TESTS SHOW SOME ELEVATED LEVELS OF BENZENE IN BARNETT SHALE

Most of the 94 sites showed no cause for concern, but agency admits problem areas could pose health risks.

Nineteen of the 94 sites in the Barnett Shale monitored by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality had benzene levels higher than officials would like to see and two of the sites registered well above acceptable standards, the regulatory agency announced today.

The much-anticipated results showed that the vast majority of the monitored sites in area enveloping Dallas-Fort Worth found that chemical levels were either non-existent or well below levels that would cause concern. But the agency admitted that natural gas drilling operations in the area could pose long-term health issues for at least some of the region’s residents.

“Although the results are complex, it is clear that gas production facilities can, and in some cases do, emit contaminants in amounts that could be deemed unsafe for lifetime (70 years) or long-term exposure,” TCEQ said in a news release published on its Web site. “However, at only two monitoring sites were benzene levels found that would trigger immediate actions to reduce emissions.”

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By John Moritz

January 27, 2010

A PRE-STATE OF THE UNION MESSAGE FROM T. BOONE PICKENS

Colorful Texas billionaire hopes Obama recognizes the value of natural gas in meeting U.S. energy needs.

Tonight, President Obama will lay out his agenda for 2010 and beyond.  While 2009 was primarily focused on the financial sector and health care, I am hoping that the President will speak to the continuing crisis of our dangerous dependence on foreign oil—the biggest single threat to our national security.  

In 2009 we imported over four billion barrels of oil at a cost of nearly a third of a trillion dollars. If you’ve followed the Pickens Plan over the past 18 months, you know that we have made great strides in supporting and crafting legislation that supports the wind and solar power industries.    The third leg of that stool has been, and continues to be, natural gas.

Because of enhanced drilling techniques, the natural gas contained in the vast shale deposits under Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Appalachia is available for commercial recovery.  This means the U.S. now has more than 100 years of natural gas reserves, which puts the U.S. among the top three in the world in that natural resource.  

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By Boone Pickens

T. Boone Pickens

January 26, 2010

TPPF STUDY TOUTS LOWER RATES AFTER DE-REG

But the lawyer for the cities says the conservative think tank is cherry-picking its data.

The ongoing war of words over whether the 1999 law that restructured the Texas retail electric market actually delivered the promised lower prices to ratepayers flared up again today when the Texas Public Policy Foundation released a report saying prices are lower in the parts of the state where ratepayers have competition.

Almost immediately afterward, the lawyer for a consortium of cities that often finds itself at odds with the electric industry released its response saying the TPPF report is misleading.

The TPPF report, called “Prices, Reliability, and Consumer Choice in the Texas Electricity Market,” says prices in the competitive market are far lower than suggested in several national publications and even in the data produced by the federal government.

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By John Moritz

January 26, 2010

IS BILL HAMMOND THE NEW HERO OF THE ENVIRONMENTALISTS?

He did receive a certificate of environmental stewardship, but there’s a little more to the story.

Bill Hammond, the very pro-business president of the very pro-business Texas Association of Business, could barely contain his elation this afternoon over being awarded a “Certificate of Environmental Stewardship” from a liberal-leaning interfaith organization.

“I’m speechless,” Hammond said in news release distributed by TAB.  “To be recognized for our organization’s commitment to real environmental change is gratifying.  I am delighted that our charge to build a better Texas has helped our Earth as well.”  
 

So this naturally begs the question: Has the conservative Hammond had a change of heart? Or has Texas Impact, the progressive faith-based organization that sponsors Texas Interfaith Power & Light – which gave Hammond the certificate – rewired its own philosophy?

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By John Moritz

January 26, 2010

ODESSA DEVELOPMENT CORP. APPROVES INCENTIVES FOR CLEAN COAL PLANT

Deal provides $5 million, plus land for Summit Power’s planned facility that would capture and sequester CO2 for enhanced oil recovery projects.

The Odessa Development Corp. on Monday approved an incentive package worth $5 million-plus to for Summit Energy and its plan to build its carbon-capturing coal plant that promises to bring more than 100 jobs to the Permiam Basin.

The package includes a $5 million cash payment to Summit, providing it fulfills its promise to create at least 125 post-construction jobs and to make reasonable efforts to use the local labor force and business community for projects related to the plant. It also authorized the development corporation, which is funded with a quarter-cent local sales tax, to purchase 600 acres in the nearby community of Penwell to build the facility.

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By John Moritz

January 25, 2010

ABOUT HALF OF THE SPILLED CRUDE FROM LAST WEEK'S TANKER COLLISION HAS BEEN CONTAINED OR DISPERSED

Land Commissioner Patterson toured the site near Port Arthur and says his agency is working closely with the Coast Guard to contain the damage.

About half of the crude that spilled into the Port of Port Arthur when two vessels collided on Saturday has either evaporated, dispersed or recovered and damage to sea life appears minimum so far, state and federal officials said today.

The U.S. Coast Guard said more than 60 vessels from multiple jurisdictions have been deployed to the Sabine-Neches Ship Channel and that about 11 miles of containment booms are in place to corral what is left of the estimated 460,000 gallons of low-grade crude that escaped when an 807-foot tanker chartered by Exxon Mobil and one of two barges being steered by a tug boat in the Sabine River slammed together.

The channel has remained closed to all but official cleanup traffic and more than 220,000 gallons of oil has been either recovered or naturally dispersed.

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By John Moritz