February 8, 2010
NEW REGIONAL EPA CHIEF SAYS AGENCY WILL BE ACTIVE IN BARNETT SHALE
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Community activists heartened at recent meeting, but industry rep says drilling activity is safe.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
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.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only Texas Energy Report
By John Moritz
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 Al Armendariz, EPA Region 6 administrator |
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Copyright February 08, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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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
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Copyright February 05, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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February 4, 2010
PHIL KING SEES OBAMA’S CARBON TASK FORCE AS TROJAN HORSE
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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 Obama’s 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.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only Texas Energy Report
By John Moritz
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 Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford) |
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Copyright February 04, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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February 4, 2010
BURNAM SAYS TCEQ LOW-BALLED BARNETT SHALE AIR RESULTS
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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.”
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only Texas Energy Report
By John Moritz
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 State Rep. Lon Burnam |
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Copyright February 04, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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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
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Copyright February 03, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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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
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Copyright February 03, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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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
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Copyright February 02, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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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
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Copyright February 02, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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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
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Copyright February 01, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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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
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Copyright February 01, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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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
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Copyright February 01, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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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
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Copyright January 29, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 29, 2010
RRC RELEASES LATEST PERMIT AND PRODUCTION STATISTICS
In our Press Release section.
By John Moritz
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Copyright January 29, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 28, 2010
LAST-MINUTE CONDITION COMPLICATES DEAL FOR CLEAN COAL PLANT
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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.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only Texas Energy Report
By John Moritz
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 Laura Miller |
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Copyright January 28, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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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.”
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By John Moritz
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Copyright January 27, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 27, 2010
A PRE-STATE OF THE UNION MESSAGE FROM T. BOONE PICKENS
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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.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only Texas Energy Report
By Boone Pickens
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 T. Boone Pickens |
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Copyright January 27, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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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
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Copyright January 26, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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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
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Copyright January 26, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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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
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Copyright January 26, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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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
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Copyright January 25, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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