Energy
September 22, 2017
This Week in Texas Energy: Gas Prices Coming Back Down
Plus: AMD bids to make Tesla chips, Perry pushes carbon capture, and a cute promotion from a gas station in Nash.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Energy
Reporting and commentary on the Texas energy industry and innovations shaping its future
Energy
September 21, 2017
Spills Reported at One of Houston’s Most Toxic Superfund Sites
In a series of major chemical accidents caused by Harvey, this might be the worst yet.
Energy
September 20, 2017
John Goodenough Plans to Make Gasoline Obsolete
How a wisecracking 95-year-old chemist plans to reenergize the future.
Energy
September 18, 2017
The Mexican Market for U.S. Petroleum Grows
But the 2018 Mexican election could put a kink in the hose.
Energy
September 16, 2017
The Largest Harvey-Related Gasoline Spill Went Unknown for Weeks
Officials at Magellan Midstream Partners claim floodwaters made them underestimate the magnitude of the gasoline spill at Galena Park.
Energy
September 15, 2017
This Week in Texas Energy: EPA Opens Investigation Into Crosby Arkema Plant
Houston’s Galena Park neighborhood deals with a massive oil spill after Harvey, Exxon loses a fight to keep documents secret in New York’s climate change fraud probe, and the Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission is running for re-election.
Energy
September 15, 2017
Electric Vehicles Have an Energy Problem—Hydrogen May Be the Answer
Unlike electric cars, which take can take hours to fully charge, refueling a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle takes about as much time as it does to gas up your car.
Energy
September 10, 2017
Strategic Petroleum Reserve Tapped for the First Time in Five Years
With the release of 4.5 million barrels of crude oil, Energy Secretary Perry expects to see just a two-week disruption in gas prices.
Energy
September 9, 2017
Texas Energy Companies Return to Operations After Harvey
Nearly all refineries are resuming operations, though production will remain curtailed for weeks to come.
Energy
September 1, 2017
This Week In Texas Energy: All Harvey, All The Time
Refinery capacity, oil reserves, and the mythical fuel shortages.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Energy
August 31, 2017
The Post-Harvey Gas Panic
Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton assures the public: ”There’s plenty of gasoline.”
Energy
August 31, 2017
Oil Companies Release Hazardous Chemicals During Emergency Shutdowns for Hurricane Harvey
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has received numerous incident reports of air pollution during the storm.
Energy
August 29, 2017
Renewables a Boon to Public Health
As the energy grid mix has changed, air quality has improved. And that has brought national savings of $30 billion to $112 billion in health costs over eight years.
Energy
August 28, 2017
If You Pay More for Gasoline This Week, Blame Harvey
Higher gasoline prices are just another consequence of the storm.
Energy
August 25, 2017
This Week in Texas Energy: Texas Energy Companies Prepare for Hurricane Harvey
Energy companies evacuate the Gulf Coast, CenterPoint Energy has some helpful tips, a California company makes a bid on a Texas utility, and Texas officials hope to maintain strong energy ties with Mexico.
Energy
August 25, 2017
Buffett Rebuffed
How the greatest deal maker in history got outmaneuvered in his bid for Oncor.
Energy
August 24, 2017
Permian Basin Investments Expected to Grow by $32 Billion by 2021
Association report says Permian oil production provides 45 percent of the output from the Lower 48.
Energy
August 24, 2017
Exxon Says a Harvard-Backed, Peer-Reviewed Study of Its Own Internal Communications About Climate Change Is “Preposterous”
The current debate is getting downright silly.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Business
August 23, 2017
The Port of Corpus Christi’s Boom
The shale boom and the end of a decades-old export ban have put the Port of Corpus Christi on the global map. Finally.
Energy
August 18, 2017
Big Oil Urges Trump Not to Levy Economic Sanctions on Venezuela
A group of lawmakers led by a Texas Congressman also sent a letter to the President.
News & Politics
August 16, 2017
Can NAFTA Negotiations Overcome Politics?
It’s still possible to improve the three-nation economic relationship and integrate the states’ energy sectors.
Energy
August 15, 2017
Is Houston Prioritizing Industry Over the Health of Its Communities?
As Houston plots a sustainable path forward, it’s leaving fenceline communities behind.
Energy
August 12, 2017
Microsoft Application Allows Companies to Track Carbon Emissions by the Minute
This new feature comes from a partnership between Microsoft and WattTime.
Energy
August 11, 2017
This Week in Texas Energy: New Concerns About Grid Reliability
Plus: Rick Perry’s investment in batteries, NRG layoffs, and an interactive map of wind farms.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Energy
August 11, 2017
Edgar Byram Davis, Luling’s Wildcatter and Philanthropist
”The most peculiar angel” and a man of faith.
Energy
August 10, 2017
It’s Not Easy Going Green
Toyota and JP Morgan Chase bring renewables, and more traffic, to Plano.
Energy
August 4, 2017
Happy Fortieth, DOE!
Electric grid resiliency and security are keys to a bright energy future.
Energy
August 4, 2017
This Week in Texas Energy: Texas Big Oil Comes Out Against the Bathroom Bill
Energy Secretary Rick Perry might head to the Department of Homeland Security, Texas holds on to the number one spot for energy consumption, and big oil and ranchers battle over water resources in West Texas.
Energy
August 2, 2017
Why Texas Uses More Energy Than Any Other State
More than 10 percent of the nation’s energy is consumed in Texas.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Energy
August 2, 2017
What the Next Forty Years of the Department of Energy Should Bring
A new focus on demand-side approaches and smarter energy management.
Energy
July 29, 2017
Bridging the Gender Gap in Oil and Gas
The rigidity of the oil and gas industry makes it difficult for women to participate.
Energy
July 28, 2017
This Week in Texas Energy: Rick Perry Gets a Prank Phone Call
Plus: There's a "substantial increase" in reports about a Bastrop oil spill, Texas is leading the way in renewable energy, and a big bank decides to go green.
Energy
July 27, 2017
The Number Of Oil Spills in Texas Dropped 26 Percent in 2016
The number of spills in 2016 was the lowest Texas had seen since 2012.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Energy
July 25, 2017
Climate Change to Bring Rising Energy Costs
Low-income Texans are particularly at risk for negative economic impacts.
Energy
July 22, 2017
NRG Energy Selling Off Its Renewable-Energy Projects
The restructuring is a change from the greener direction NRG was headed in.
Energy
July 21, 2017
T. Boone Pickens’s “Texas-Sized Fall”
The 89-year-old legendary wildcatter embraces his mortality.
Energy
July 21, 2017
New Energy in the Senate Republican Primary
A Houston energy lawyer is challenging Ted Cruz, but can he woo over the senator's oil and gas benefactors?
Energy
July 20, 2017
Oil Theft is Increasing in West Texas
Marfa Public Radio reports on the down side of the boom.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Energy
July 12, 2017
The Weather Underground
Could new wind energy storage change the Texas energy industry?
Energy
July 11, 2017
Oncor and the Oracle
Warren Buffett’s big bet with Oncor.
Energy
July 9, 2017
Warren Buffett Set to Become a Texas Energy Tycoon
"When we invest in Texas, we invest big!"
Energy
July 8, 2017
A Texas Company Wants to Spread Wind Power Across the U.S.
Houston-based Clean Line Energy Partners has grand plans for national expansion.
Energy
June 30, 2017
How Texas A&M Will Help India’s Power Grid
TAMU joins a United States team focused on beefing up India's power grid.
Energy
June 29, 2017
Department of Energy Names UT Austin In Energy Grid Project
The university’s project will focus on improving energy grids in rural Texas.
Energy
June 23, 2017
What Will Rick Perry’s Delayed Energy Grid Study Say?
The current energy secretary was a big proponent of wind power as governor of Texas. The signs now point to a change of heart.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Energy
June 23, 2017
Plan to Bring High-Level Nuclear Waste to West Texas Receives Another Blow
A judge blocked the merger that could be key to the operation's future.
Energy
June 16, 2017
Gas Prices Are at a Twelve-Year Low Throughout Texas, But Don’t Count on it to Last
Start your summer vacations early, if you can.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Energy
June 15, 2017
EPA Delays Chemical Facility Safety Regulations Inspired by West Fertilizer Plant Explosion
The move comes as work begins in West on a memorial honoring the fifteen lives lost in the 2013 disaster.
Business
June 6, 2017
Dallas Is The Home Of The World’s First Energy-Positive Big Box Store
The Dallas location of Austin-based home store TreeHouse generates more energy than it uses—a first for a store of its size.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Energy
June 5, 2017
Pumpjacks and Cemeteries
A bizarre sighting in East Texas.